Endings and Epilogues  Book One: Protection
by thew40
Summary: Sequel to Across All Worlds!  With a final confrontation on the horizon, Adam, the Galactic Guardians, and some of his friends from Eternia seek to stop the Cosmic Enforcers' vile plans!  But while he's doing that, what is Skeletor up to? Please R
1. Previously and Prelude

Introduction:

At the end of the day, when I look to find someone to blame for all this . . . I blame my fiancée, known to you as Siriusfanatic or Terrabm or Captain Terrabm. I know her as "mousey" or simply "sweetheart." That's neither here nor there. What it comes down to is the fact that she re-implanted the idea of visiting an abandoned fandom when she handed me "The Brotherhood." Two and half years after I read her massive "Biker Mice from Mars" epic, I decided that an old He-Man story idea I had needed to see the light of day.

Hence, "The Final Adventure."

So . . . thanks for that.

What happened then, dear readers? You all came and told me how much you liked it. Being blown over as no one had actually had that kind of reaction to anything I had written, I decided "Well, I've got readers . . . might as well go with it."

Hence . . . everything else.

So . . . thanks for that, readers.

In all honestly, I use the word "blame" with the most amount of love possible. I have certainly enjoyed writing these characters and taking advantage of freedom that comes with fanfiction and adding my own twists and turns to their adventures. I have more than enjoyed having you read them and give me comments.

In case any of you didn't know, "Endings and Epilogues" will most likely be my final _Masters of the Universe _fanfic. I've told just about every tale that I wanted to be told. That doesn't mean that when I revise and re-post this later this year that an extra chapter or two won't appear, but this is in fact my last story in this continuity. There's still one more left with _New Legacy._

Then . . . who knows?

I want to take this time to thank all of you – new or old readers – for taking the time to read these stories.

I would also like to thank my collaborators for their work on the co-ops – Princessadora, Classic Cowboy, Fusion Blaster, General Stingrad, Deltara, Jagwarknight, Brimstone, and Ashley. Out of the group, I'd like to extend a special thank you to Jagwarknight, General Stingrad, Classic Cowboy, Fusion Blaster, and Princessadora – who not only contributed to the co-ops, but took to time to help me with story issues and whatnot. Also – the _New Legacy _gang, whose work was always an inspiration.

Furthermore, everyone both at and that tossed in their opinions and reviews. I'd also like to give all the members of the Dudes of Fanfic and Chicks of Fanfic back at the .org a firm "thanks." Despite the threads going silently into the night, you guys and gals were a great inspiration to me as well.

Finally, "thank yous" go out to everyone at the Four Horseman, the good guys at Mattel, MYC and MYP, Filmation, Jetlag, Entertainment Rights, NECA, and Cannon. There are a ton of individuals that contributed to the mythology of MOTU, but my creative leg is itching too much for me thank them all right now, so – THANKS!

I'm going to take the time now to kindly ask for reviews. It isn't something I like to do, as I don't want it to seem as though I'm some sort of "review whore," BUT, this story means a lot to me and as it is my final conclusion to the MOTU saga, I'd like to know what everyone thinks of it.

Again, thank you so much. Expect an even sappier A/N at the end of the entire fanfic. Enjoy!

With Warmest Regards,

Thew40

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Disclaimer:

_Masters of the Universe, Princess of Power, _and _The New Adventures of He-Man_ are all copyright to Mattel Entertainment. The characters presented here belong to them are not licensed or endorsed by Mattel or its licensees.

The following story is a work of fanfiction, written Thew40 and owned by Thew40. No profit is made from the production of this story.

The characters Kathryn, Addison, Woodsman, Pelicor, Talas, Ferna, Johanna, Kortan, Elementor, and other original characters are my own creation. If you wish to use them, IM or E-mail me.

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Author's Note:

Like just about all of my other fanfics, this story takes place in the same continuity as _Preludes and Beginnings, He-Man: Year One, The Day That Nothing Happened, The Elfsong of Eternia, The Return, The Crossroads of Destiny, Prophecy & Change, Just Another Day, Liberty and Valor, Manifest Destiny, Roots, Dues Ex Machina, My Blue Reflection, The Last Battle, Return to Eternia, A Winter's Heart, The Shroud of the Horde, The Shroud of the Horde: Prelude to Hope, _and _Across All Worlds_. All of these stories save _The Return _are here on (_The Return_ is not yet available – long story). I highly recommend you read them. If you have not, then the following if for you. If you have, no worries . . . just skip to the part that says "Prelude."

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Previously:

Much of Eternia's long history has either gone silent in the faint whispers of myth or drowned out in the roars of battle. What is known is that Good and Evil has waged war for many thousands of years.

Prince Keldor of Eternos was born on the same day his mother died. The third son of Miro and the fourth of his children, Keldor was plagued with a weak heart. However, he often used this as a crutch. While his siblings didn't help with this issue, Keldor turned to the forces of darkness and began to study evil magics. Chief among his studies was the secrets of Castle Grayskull, which he lusted after. When threat of war with the Orcs came upon Eternos, Keldor aided the Orc leader (a human named Monteeg) in the hopes that it would cause Castle Grayskull to reappear. While Keldor's siblings Randor, Johanna, and Stephan dealt with the Orcs, Keldor entered Castle Grayskull. Luckily, a Lieutenant named Duncan was nearby and was summoned to Castle Grayskull to halt Keldor. While Keldor was stopped, the fallen prince managed to steal the Sword of Darkness. The Sword of Deception was accidentally cast into the Abyss. Keldor was returned to Eternos, where he decided to go into exile, as his family had indeed wished. It was then announced that Keldor was killed in the battle with the Orcs. In the tragic days after, King Miro grew weary and fled the throne, giving it to Randor. Miro then went missing during a battle with the vile Enchantress. (**Preludes and Beginnings – Book One: Hate**)

Two years later, a space explorer named Marlena Glenn was accidentally shot through a wormhole near her homeworld of Earth. She crashed on Eternia and became a guest of King Randor and Eternos. While the two danced around each other, uncertain of the others feelings, Duncan and the Sorceress of Grayskull fell madly in love. The Sorceress – Teelana – was released from her role while the Spirit of Grayskull gathered power. It was during this time Teelana became pregnant. Meanwhile, Marlena and Randor grew closer, admitted their feelings to each other, and married. While this was all occurring, Keldor had come under the command of Monteeg and his Orc host. During a raid, Keldor's heart nearly cost the entire pack. He was challenged by a rival, but Keldor killed him and took the Orc's heart as his own – unexpectedly changing his skin color to blue. Shortly thereafter, the fabled fallen Elder and the warlord Hordak arrived on Eternia in the name of his brother, Horde Prime, to conquer the world. Keldor swore allegiance to him and became Hordak's apprentice. (**Preludes and Beginnings – Book Two: Love**)

Shortly thereafter, Eternia was thrown into a war with the Horde. Keldor maintained his identity a secret and no one knew exactly from where it was the Horde was attacking from. During the course of the war, Teelana gave birth to a daughter. However, in order to maintain the secrecy of their new daughter's legacy (for the girl named Teela would have to become Sorceress someday), Duncan and Teelana were forced to fake Teelana's death. Teelana became the Sorceress again. Eventually, Randor discovered that his own brother was working for the enemy and was captured – only to be rescued by the Sorceress. Over a year after it had begun, the Horde War came to its final battle at Eternos. Randor and his forces were able to break the strength of the Horde and sent them into retreat. However, knowing that they were destined for something special and with Keldor having revenge on his mind, Hordak and Keldor went after the newly born children of Randor and Marlena – Adam and Adora. Adora was captured, but the arrival of Duncan prevented Adam from being taken. Keldor was captured by Duncan, but Hordak left with Adora. The Sorceress and Duncan went after Hordak and chased him back to Snake Mountain, but were too late. Hordak was gone, along with Adora. In order to secure that Adam have a happy childhood and that the people of Eternos enjoyed the great victory, the memory of Adora was suppressed by the Council of Elders. (**Preludes and Beginnings – Book Three: Conflict**)

A year later, Keldor gathered new forces at Snake Mountain. He had made alliances during the war including the witch in training named Lynn and the monstrous Beast-Man. Together with the thug called Kronis, the blind warrior named Eathos, and the warlord Mer-Man, Keldor joined this ragtag team with various sorcerers and warlords to create the Council of Evil. When they went to battle the Council of Elders, however, the Council of Evil was dispatched rather quickly. In the end, Kronis was greatly wounded and Keldor . . . Keldor's face was burned away by his own evil magic. If not for the mysterious Scare-Glow, Keldor would have died. But instead, he was preserved and transformed into the faceless Skeletor. (**Preludes and Beginnings – Book Four: Peace**)

Many years did pass and while the evil of Skeletor festered, the goodwill of Eternos flourished. Adam and Teela grew up, as did their parents. On Adam's 16th birthday, Duncan, now the Man-At-Arms, was summoned to his former lovers side at Castle Grayskull. The Sorceress warned that Skeletor would strike soon and that Adam must be at last ready to embrace his destiny. (**Year One: Prelude in December**)

Weeks later, Skeletor did indeed attack, this time with his warriors re-imagined as Evil-Lynn, Beast-Man, Trap-Jaw, Tri-Klops, and Mer-Man. Adam was taken to Castle Grayskull, where he and his cowardly tiger Cringer were tested. They were found worthy and the Sorceress bestowed upon Adam the Sword of Power. Using the Sword of Power, Adam and Cringer were transformed into the mighty He-Man and Battle-Cat. Together with allies such as Orko, Teela, Stratos, Moss Man, Buzz-Off, and Mekaneck, Skeletor's forces were repelled. (**Year One – Part One: January**)

The next few months were a challenge for He-Man. Juggling his training sessions with Teela made for some trouble when Adam was forced to fake being lazy, cowardly, and weak. This lead to greater tension when they were captured by Skeletor and Adam had to "hide" so that He-Man could fight the villain. (**Year One – Part Two: February**) Not long after that, a new ally named Roboto helped He-Man fight Skeletor when he had constructed a device called the Magic Stealer, which had been designed by the new Evil Warrior Spikor. (**Year One – Part Three: March**) Not long after this, the forces of Eternos were joined by Man-E-Faces, who aided during a battle with the mad wizard Jarvan. (**Year One – Part Four: April**)

He-Man's greatest challenge came when he was forced to go toe-to-toe with Skeletor's newly expanded Evil Warriors. At the hands of Evil-Lynn, Tri-Klops, Trap-Jaw, Mer-Man, Webstor, Kobra Kahn, Beast-Man, Jitsu, Stinkor, Spikor, and Clawful, He-Man was defeated and left for dead. Luckily, Teela rescued him. (**Year One- Part Five: May**) Shortly thereafter, Skeletor tried to use Lord Fisto of North Eternos and his enforcer, Ram-Man, to create a coup detat against Randor. It was defused and the pair joined He-Man and his newly instated Heroic Warriors in stopping Skeletor and the Evil Warriors from entering Castle Grayskull again. (**Year One – Part Six: June**)

Following this, Skeletor was joined by Zodak, the Cosmic Enforcer who – sensing a disruption in the balance of Good and Evil – aided Skeletor in discovering the key to the Golden Discs of Knowledge. The Discs had been given to Skeletor by Zanthos, who had gotten them from the Elders, who in turn got them from the Ancients – who was given them by the Cosmic Enforcers. Zanthos, understanding his mistake by giving them to Skeletor, aided the Heroic Warriors and their new member Sy-Klone, in reaching the Key of Castle Grayskull atop of Point Dread. Protected by Centaurs, both teams had trouble at Point Dread. However, He-Man being foretold to them, the Centaurs allowed He-Man forward and he ultimately stopped Skeletor. The key was destroyed and with the clan protecting it gone, the balance was restored. Zodak then punished Zanthos by sending him to the Phantom Zone – even though Skeletor still retained the Golden Discs of Knowledge. (**Year One - Part Seven: July**)

After Teela's rite of passage with Marlena the next month (**Year One – Part Eight: August**), events began to escalate quickly. Skeletor manipulated the terrorist Whiplash and his clan the Thundertails in taking the Lizard-Peoples' chief captive – while stealing an object called the Nurrune. Teela helped free the chief and stop the Thundertails. Despite Whiplash and Skeletor escaping, Teela was rewarded with promotion Captain of the Royal Guard. (**Year One – Part Nine: September**) After this, Skeletor attacked He-Man with the Nurrune, which created zombie-like evil duplicates of He-Man's allies and loved ones. He-Man won the day, but not before a half-constructed duplicate of himself was created. Skeletor took this half-duplicate back to Snake Mountain. (**Year One – Part Ten: October**). Then, the two-headed bounty hunter called Two-Bad joined with the Evil Warriors after retrieving some of He-Man's blood as a rite of passage. Skeletor had, in the meantime, picked up the Unity Stone – that which had created Two-Bad. (**Year One – Part Eleven: November**)

Using the blood, left-over Horde technology, and the half-duplicate, Skeletor created Faker, He-Man's evil twin. Faker was used to help send the Heroic Warriors into the Lost Dimension and capture Randor, Marlena, Man-At-Arms, and Teela. He-Man and Faker fought, allowing Skeletor time to enter Castle Grayskull. After temporarily defeating Faker, He-Man raced to Castle Grayskull. There, he forced to give up the Sword of Power. After he did, he again battled the Evil Warriors. He had them on the run . . . when the Heroic Warriors returned! Orko and He-Man rescued their captured allies, who then followed He-Man and Battle-Cat into Castle Grayskull. As the others fought, Skeletor and He-Man became locked in a heated battle in which He-Man was able to turn off the Sword of Darkness. Defeated, Skeletor went into retreat with his Evil Warriors. (**Year One – Part Twelve: December**)

Weeks later, Skeletor started a new plot – this one involving the Diamond Ray of Disappearance. (**Year One: Epilogue in January**) Of course, it failed and the day was saved (_"The Diamond Ray of Disappearance"_)

The next two years were quite busy for He-Man. The battle with Skeletor waged on. Often times, it involved various schemes and plans that fell apart completely.

Once, Skeletor and his Goblin ally General Tartaran launched an attack against Eternos when a visiting alien had arrived for the first time. The alien – named Ohm – was so stunned by the violence that he forced He-Man and Skeletor to battle each other over the fate of the world. He-Man won out, due to Skeletor's obsession and vileness getting the better of him. He-Man saved Skeletor from his own trappings and Ohm sent the Goblins and Skeletor's forces back to where they belonged. (_"The Arena"_)

Skeletor was not the only threat to Eternia, however. Even though Skeletor continued to launch plans upon plans against the forces of good – He-Man had to face down foes such as Game Master, Toy Maker, Negator, Evilseed, Jarvan, Darkdream, Kothos, the Space Pirates, the Spirit of Evil, and the cunningly sleazy Count Marzo.

Even with these other enemies, He-Man battled Skeletor the most often. One adventure led to Zanthos being helped by He-Man to find redemption. He-Man was able to recover the lost Golden Discs of Knowledge and he gave them to Zanthos and Zodak. Zodak made Zanthos into Cosmic Enforcer. (_"The Golden Discs of Knowledge"_) This was the not only time He-Man met with Zodak, though. Skeletor had trapped He-Man on another world. He-Man, amnesic, helped the last survivor of this world (a bird-like woman named Gleedal) overthrow the despot called Plundor. (_"Quest for He-Man"_) The last time was to recover the powerful sphere left over from the creation – the Starseed. (_"The Starseed"_)

Other events with Skeletor involved the opening of relations with the Dragons, via their master, Granamyr (_"The Dragon's Gift"_). There was also the mysterious power of the young girl named the Starchild. (_"The Starchild")_

One adventure not involving Skeletor was He-Man's rematch with Faker. Faker had found his way into the Elf realm of Dellos after his last defeat. There, he tapped into the Elves energies. He-Man took Faker down and then helped the Elves in their return to Eternia. As their realm collapsed, Faker saved He-Man, but was caught in the energy backlash. (**The Elfsong of Eternia**)

King Miro, long missing and kidnapped by the evil Enchantress, returned to Eternia. He had chosen to allow King Randor to continue to serve as king of Eternos while Miro himself retired and joined the regular public. (_"Out of the Past"_)

Not long afterwards, He-Man was duped into believing he had killed someone. He-Man sought to give up his mantle as Champion of Grayskull and did, only to discover that it was all a scheme concocted by Skeletor. Prince Adam then reclaimed the Sword of Power and vanquished Skeletor once more. The event not only renewed He-Man's conviction, but also served to bring both he and Teela closer together. Prince Adam had also grown closer to Teela, his feelings for her continuing to grow into more than simple friendship. (_"The Problem With Power"_)

On a day when nothing happened, Teela found herself perhaps having feelings for Adam as well as He-Man, leading to some confusion on her part. (**The Day That Nothing Happened**)

Despite the on-going tensions between the forces of Snake Mountain and Eternos, a wonderful thing had occurred. The long-lost Princess Adora was discovered alive and well on the nearby world of Etheria. He-Man journeyed to Etheria, not knowing that Adora was his sister. His task was to give her the Sword of Protection, a blade similar to his own. When He-Man did find Adora and found out that the Sword of Protection was destined to be hers, he was stunned to find that she was a Force Captain for the Evil Horde! As it turned out, the Horde had conquered most of Etheria in the years following their withdraw from Eternia.

He-Man, captured while aiding the warriors of the Great Rebellion (a resistance movement against the Horde), eventually got through to Adora. With the help of the Sorceress, Adora learned that the Horde was a terrible force – one that only brought despair and pain to others. Upon grasping the Sword of Protection, Adora was changed into a second Champion of Grayskull – She-Ra, Princess of Power! As She-Ra, she was able to rescue He-Man and ultimately betrayed her master, Hordak.

The truth revealed behind their sibling-hood, He-Man and She-Ra helped the Great Rebellion rescue the former Queen of the kingdom Brightmoon, Queen Angella. With Angella freed and the Great Rebellion picking up, Adam reunited Adora with her parents. Unfortunately, Hordak followed the twins and teamed up with Skeletor to re-capture her. The plan failed.

Though it pained her, Adora knew that she was a valuable asset to the Great Rebellion. She-Ra and He-Man joined with the Great Rebellion in a crusade against the Evil Horde. The end result was the freeing of Brightmoon Kingdom. (_"The Secret of the Sword"_)

Two weeks after this, Skeletor released the Snake-Men from the Void as a result of the arrival of She-Ra. This was also done because Skeletor sought an ally to fight the Horde, as Hordak was the rival of King Hiss in the old days. Once King Hiss arose, he restored the ancient Great Towers. A battle was fought over them between He-Man and the Heroic Warriors; the Horde; Skeletor and the Evil Warriors; and the Snake-Men. Though He-Man claimed the victory, he paid dearly for it. His secret love, Teela, was gravely injured. (**The Crossroads of Destiny - Book One: Honor**)

But Teela did not die. As King Hiss sent Skeletor and his minions into exile, Hordak built up an army to destroy his ancient nemesis. King Hiss and Hordak battled across Eternia and Etheria, and all the while the Heroic Warriors were in hiding. Teela recovered from her wounds during this war, thanks in part to King Hiss, who sought to make her his wife with a 'love spell.' Needless to say, it failed. The war ended when Hordak called upon his skills as a former Elder's apprentice. (**The Crossroads of Destiny - Book Two: War**)

In the aftermath of the Horde/Snake-Men War, Skeletor swooped in and gained control of Castle Grayskull. He-Man, Teela, Man-At-Arms, and newcomer Gwildor battled on planet Earth for the safety of Eternia. While they did so, She-Ra, Orko, and various other Heroic Warriors secured the palace of Eternos and the Great Towers. (**The Crossroads of Destiny - Book Three: Beyond** and _"He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: The Motion Picture"_)

However, Skeletor's near gaining of power summoned the creature known as the Dark Cloud. It rushed to Eternia. To defeat it, She-Ra, the royal family (King Randor, Queen Johanna, and King Stephan), the Sorceress, Zodak, and Man-At-Arms joined forces with Skeletor, Hordak, and King Hiss. The battle ended when Teela used the long hidden Sword of the Ancients on the Dark Cloud. He-Man, She-Ra, and Zodak then finished off the creature. During this time, Teela revealed to Prince Adam that she had feelings for him. However, she later confessed that she actually had feelings for He-Man and was merely projecting those feelings on to Adam. (**The Crossroads of Destiny - Book Four: Restoration**)

Eventually, She-Ra and Adora took up the command of the Great Rebellion. As they warred against Hordak, the ranks of the Great Rebellion grew. Shortly after the events with the Dark Cloud, She-Ra went to the long-lost Crystal Castle and met with the being called Light-Hope. Light-Hope provided She-Ra with a way to defend Kingdom Brightmoon. (_"The Crystal Castle"_)

In time, Adora met a pirate by the name of SeaHawk – a man with a good heart, even if he didn't know it. (_"The SeaHawk"_) While SeaHawk showed an interest in She-Ra, Adora felt slighted. She eventually team ed up with SeaHawk again and the pair hit it off rather well – this time as Adora and SeaHawk. (_"Return of the SeaHawk"_)

Just with He-Man and Skeletor, She-Ra faced Hordak many times. Once, she even needed He-Man to help her save a city. (_"The Price of Freedom"_) Another, the crystal in the Sword of Protection was damaged and Adora needed to face down many feats and trials to repair it. (_"The Stone in the Sword"_)

Just before their first birthday together, He-Man and She-Ra teamed up to stop Horde Prime from halting the Christmas spirit from reaching Eternia and Etheria. ("_The He-Man and She-Ra Christmas Special_")

A few months later, Adam and the forces of Eternos discovered that the entity known as the Spirit of Evil was attacking the titan Ancient known as Procrustus. Procrustus held together the Light and Dark Hemispheres, ensuring their stability. A team of Heroic Warriors set off to stop the Spirit of Evil, but failed. Procrustus was destroyed and the Light Hemisphere became a second Dark Hemisphere. (**Prophecy & Change - Book One: Abyss**)

As all those of the new Dark Hemisphere gave into their evil natures, the ones spared from the transformation - Queen Marlena, Rokkon, Stonedar, Lubic, and Orko - set off for Castle Grayskull. Lubic, however, was captured and tortured on their way out. Stonedar and Rokkon headed off into space to contact Zodak. Marlena and Orko arrived at Castle Grayskull, where He-Man, Man-At-Arms, and King Randor planned to attack. To defend Castle Grayskull, She-Ra and the Great Rebellion journeyed to Eternia. To do this, the secret of She-Ra's identity was revealed to Queen Marlena. The Great Rebellion defeated the Heroic Warriors and He-Man and Teela were ultimately restored to their true, good selves. (**Prophecy & Change - Book Two: Sundered**)

The quest to restore Eternia began then. She-Ra began a surrogate pregnancy to return Procrustus and she was guarded by SeaHawk. Teela went on a search for artifacts left over from the Ancients. And He-Man sought the help and cooperation of the Ancients themselves. In the meantime, an Army of Darkness under the command of Skeletor and King Hiss marched to Eternos. King Miro, who managed to remain free of the Spirit of Evil's influence, took control of Eternos as his children went mad with jealously. Stonedar and Rokkon then spared the palace, thanks to a device given to them by Zodak. While the Army of Darkness struggled with the device, Hiss betrayed Skeletor and handed him off to Hordak in an exchange with the means of entering Eternos. (**Prophecy & Change - Book Three: Destruction**)

As the Ancients were gathered by He-Man, She-Ra gave birth to Procrustus and Zodak and the Cosmic Enforcers defeated the Army of Darkness. With the help of He-Man and Teela, the Ancients destroyed the Spirit of Evil once and for all. The Light Hemisphere was returned to normal, as were all of its denizens. But the emotional and political scars ran deep. (**Prophecy & Change - Book Four: Unity**)

As Randor began a summit of Eternian kingdoms, universal scoundrel Count Marzo gathered Chimera, Sticky Fingers, Lava Man, Frog Man, Leo, Hisser, Evilseed, Negator, Darkdream, General Tartaran, Game Master, Toy Maker, Fang Man and Icer to help him in a major heist: all the gold in Eternos. After putting the Dark Hemisphere to sleep and transforming all Eternians and aliens on the Light Hemisphere into animals, only He-Man was able to stand up Marzo and his gang. He-Man took down the lackeys and then finished Count Marzo, who was accidentally teleported to Earth. He-Man then undid all of Marzo's handiwork. (**Just Another Day - Book One: Caper**)

After all of this, Adam suggested a party to boost kingdom morale. At this party, Prince Adam met up with a farm girl named Kathryn. Immediately, there were sparks between the two of them. These sparks blossomed into a relationship when Adam and Man-At-Arms were called to Kathryn's farm to deal with a leader-less Panthor and Screech. Adam and Kathryn hooked up, and then went on a exploratory trip where they and the crew were captured. Their captors were Pelicons, lead by the Warrior-Commander Pelicor. Immediately, it was assumed that Eternos has been aiding the enemies of the Pelicons, the Lobsterites. However, it turned out it was the Mer-People helping the Lobsterites. Adam managed to transform into He-Man, only to be caught by Kathryn in the act. He-Man and his allies helped the Pelicons, but Pelicor himself was exiled. He joined the Heroic Warriors then, and even helped prevent a Spider invasion lead by Webstor. In the meantime, Snout Spout discovered his past at last; Adora dealt with her post-partum depression; and He-Man told Teela that he absolutely can not return the feelings she'd been confessing to him. (**Just Another Day - Book Two: Fellowship**)

In an effort to change the present, King Hiss sent Kobra Kahn into the past to kill He-Ro before the fall of the Snake-Men. He-Man, She-Ra, Battle-Cat, and Swift-Wind followed and were able to stop Kobra Kahn from completing his mission. (**Just Another Day - Book Three: Legacy**)

King Miro retrieved Skeletor from execution at the hands of Horde for being a traitor. He hopes to transform Skeletor back into Keldor, but failed miserably. Skeletor then returned to his place at Snake Mountain. (**Just Another Day - Book Four: Family**)

Over the next few months, She-Ra's leadership against Hordak brought more and more conquests against the forces of evil. In addition to numerous victories, joy had been brought to the hearts of many in the Great Rebellion. Adora and SeaHawk's love flourished. The long-lost King Micah was returned to Queen Angella and Princess Glimmer. And, much to everyone's surprise, Spirit revealed he had a child on Unicorn Island.

Hordak, defeated once more at Unicorn Island, gathered his greatest generals, dukes, Elite members, scientists, and other allies and gave the man ultimatum: develop a plan to conquer Etheria over the course of six months in the next 48 hours or perish. It took them 47 hours and 30 seconds to come up the plan. The plan, as Hordak and Horde Prime found it, was full-proof. Horde Prime, dealing a resistance movement led by his own son Prince Zed, declared that if Hordak failed in this new, seemingly full-proof plan, then he would surely die. This was a bad time for failure and the more Hordak wallowed in his own losses, the more Horde generals would lose faith in the Horde Empire and would gather around Zed. Thanks to Shadow Weaver, Hordak uncovered a way to put into motion part of his plan. Hordak's attempts at destroying the Great Rebellion had been continuously halted by the protective power of the Whispering Woods. By seeking out Dark-Hope, the evil counter-part of Light-Hope, Hordak hoped to shatter the protection of the Whispering Woods. However, He-Man, She-Ra, and a band of Heroic Warriors and the Great Rebellion were able to stop Hordak and Shadow Weaver from awakening Dark-Hope from his slumber. Yet, as victory seemed clear, Hordak was granted a bit of Dark-Hope's power for his effort to destroy the Great Rebellion. Meanwhile, Queen Angella's spy within the Horde - Double-Trouble - stumbled upon the plans for conquest and brought them to her attention. Upon She-Ra's return, Angella shared with her the plans and both are currently preparing for a counter-attack. (**Liberty and Valor - Book One: Hope**)

In a manner much like Hordak's, various towns, cities, kingdoms, and peoples from across Etheria were called in for a meeting to discuss just how to counter Hordak's dastardly plan. A full-scale revolution took place, in which Horde Harbor was destroyed, towns were freed from Horde rule through riots, taxes were halted, and key components to Hordak's plan were lost. While the Great Rebellion dealt with things on Etheria, She-Ra traveled to Horde World to meet with Prince Zed. She was captured, though, and was to be executed by Horde Prime himself. But at that last minute, She-Ra was rescued by the person she least expected: Skeletor! She then returned to Etheria to aid the gathering of a massive army that would be marching soon to the Fright Zone. (**Liberty and Valor - Book Two: Resistance**)

After many battles, the Army of Etheria came to the Fright Zone and a combination of He-Man, She-Ra, Queen Angella, King Randor, Skeletor, and King Hiss were able to defeat Hordak. The Great Rebellion took down the Horde Elite. (**Liberty and Valor - Book Three: Endgame**)

A celebration after two weeks of recovery is held, at which Adora/She-Ra hook up with SeaHawk and Adam shares some mysterious yet uplifting information with his immediate family. Hordak, his fortress destroyed and his empire wasted away, discovered a magical object that he knew could change things around: the Sword of Deception, part of the four set of blades being the Swords of Power, Protection, and Darkness. (**Liberty and Valor - Book Four: Aftermath**)

Shortly thereafter, Adam proposed to Kathryn. While they were having their Engagement Party, however, the Snake-Men attacked and they captured both Teela and Kathryn. They then took to the pair to the Tomb of Vipera, the bitch-daughter of Serpos. It was there, he Snake Goddess Vipera was restored. Taking Teela as a host and displacing Teela's life force, Vipera needed a life force to feast on and to give it strength. It went after Kathryn, Adam's fiancée, nearly killing her. He-Man was then faced with a decision - take Kathryn to the Elves to help her recover or stay and fight Vipera. He chose to take Kathryn to the Elves, leaving She-Ra to fight off Vipera. However, She-Ra failed to defend the Great Towers from the Snake-Men and later, Eternos itself fell to the Snake-Men's wrath. Meanwhile, back on Dellos, He-Man had just learned that Kathryn was pregnant, but had lost the baby due to the attack from Vipera. (**Manifest Destiny – Book One: Distress**)

After breaking up with Kathryn because she decided she couldn't handle He-Man/Adam's lifestyle, He-Man teamed up with Skeletor and along with Orko, She-Ra, Battle-Cat and a few others, managed to overcome Vipera and the Snake-Men . . . only to have Skeletor use a mini-Magic Stealer to take a portion of Castle Grayskull's power and bring his Evil Warriors to him! (**Manifest Destiny – Book Two: Alliance**)

However, He-Man was able to stop Skeletor, but only after they were teleported aboard a starship that sought He-Man's help. Skeletor escaped the starship, leaving He-Man with Hydron and Flipshot, emissaries from the planet of Primus. They told He-Man of their worlds plight and how they needed his help to overcome the armies of the Mutant warlord, Flogg. Skeletor too learned of this information and left Eternia to join Flogg to eventually gain his trust . . . then take his army back to Eternia. With a portion of the power of Grayskull with him, Skeletor left Eternia. He-Man was forced to follow, saying good bye to his friends and family in the process. (**Manifest Destiny – Book Three: Emissary**)

He-Man arrived on Primus was immediately tossed into battle between the Primians and the Mutants. Exhausted and angry, He-Man helped fight back the invasion force single-handedly. He then met his new team – the Galactic Guardians. After a training session, He-Man and the Galactic Guardians battled Skeletor and the Mutant Enforcers. During the course of this battle, He-Man reclaimed the power of Grayskull that Skeletor had stolen. (**Manifest Destiny – Book Four: Journey**)

He-Man and Skeletor battled in the Tri-Solar System for five years. The Adam persona was fortunately subdued, as He-Man was needed more than Adam.

One particular battle with Skeletor involved the Jewel of Amara, which He-Man thought was destroyed. It was a family weapon, hidden away, but Skeletor had rediscovered it two years before they left for the Tri-Solar System. During a battle, it was lost again – this time in a volcano on Denebria's moon of Nordor. (**Roots**)

In time, the Mutants were able to temporarily conquer Primus using a "Trojan Horse"-style plan. However, He-Man and his friends won out. (_"The Gift," "Skeletor's Victory," "He-Man in Exile," "Seeds of Resistance,"_ and _"Battle for Leviton"_) In the aftermath, both worlds visited the Galactic Council in pursuit of a peace treaty – but of course, it was a trick created by Skeletor. (_"Glasnost Schmaznost"_)

Six months later, super-heroes called the Patheon arrived in the Tri-Solar System, pretending to be peacekeepers. During their stay, He-Man and an advisor to the Inner Council named Mara grew closer and became a couple. In time, the Patheon turned out to be another plot by Flogg and Skeletor. (**Dues Ex Machina**)

Mara and He-Man were still together when Faker arrived on Primus. Eventually, both He-Man and Skeletor were drawn into conflict with Faker. Faker was seemingly destroyed. Fearing for her safety, He-Man broke up with Mara. She claimed it was because he had feelings for another. (**My Blue Reflection**)

Eventually, the affairs of the neighboring world of Nekron began an issue with Primus and Denebria. One civilization – the Mites were friendly. Another similar civilization called the Gleanons, were quite hostile and allied themselves with Denebria – even allowing the Mutant Crita as their Queen. Mara too became Queen of the Mites.

Just under five years after their arrival, the war of the Tri-Solar System was drawing to a close. Flogg and Skeletor had He-Man half the Galactic Guardians captured on a remote world in the aftermath of an intense competition. Taking advantage of this, the Gleanons and the Mutants took the fight back to Primus. While the battle waged on and He-Man and the Galactic Guardians soon arrived and joined the fight, Skeletor had other plans. Using an energy magic chamber, he sought to re-energize the Sword of Darkness. Back at the battle, He-Man and his forces had Flogg cornered and Flogg opened up for surrender. Just as the treaty was being signed, Skeletor appeared and struck with fury at all of his manipulations coming undone. He and Crita took He-Man and Mara to the Ruins. There, He-Man and Skeletor fought. Skeletor eventually merged the two swords, negating He-Man's power. Skeletor was stunned to find out He-Man's secret identity was none other than Adam, his own nephew. When Adam awoke, Skeletor revealed his secrets to Adam. The Galactic Guardians then showed up, allowing Adam to take the sword from Skeletor and restore himself as He-Man. He-Man then tore all of the power away from Skeletor, exiling him and Crita into deep space, then accidentally repairing the nearly-gone atmosphere. A few weeks later, He-Man left for his long journey home. (**The Last Battle**)

Prince Adam/He-Man has returned home after five years on the distant world of Primus. However, what he found on Eternia was not what he expected. Eternia has been conquered by the Horde, Eternos is in shambles, and Etheria has been shrouded in a darkness of suspended animation. He-Man, rallying the forces of good, managed to free the Heroic Warriors and recovered She-Ra, Glimmer, Bow, and a few remaining members of the Great Rebellion. Together, they overthrew Hordak. However, during the battle with the Horde, the true identities of He-Man and She-Ra were revealed to the public. (**Return to Eternia – Book One: Arrival**)

With Queen Marlena and King Randor exiled on the planet Earth, Adam and Adora have vowed to restore the kingdom as King and Queen, while still protecting the planet as He-Man and She-Ra. Part of their new leadership was to rebuild Eternos and to make contact with the various remaining kingdoms of Eternia. With a long diplomatic mission complete and Eternos back to its former glory – and then some – He-Man and She-Ra set their sights on their enemies to determine what to do next. In the meantime, after some soul searching, Adam and Teela decided to finally get together and become a couple. (**Return to Eternia – Book Two: World Tour**)

At Snake Mountain, Adam learned that King Hiss and his Snake-Men journeyed into the depths of Eternia. Though warned by the Sorceress that he may find a terrible truth beneath the ground, Adam and a few Heroic Warriors went anyways. Once there, they confronted a giant, Mer-Man, and eventually, Adam met with a being called the Faceless One. The Faceless One showed Adam (and only Adam) the secret the Sorceress warned about. The Cosmic Enforcers have been manipulating Eternia into a prolonged with between the forces of good and evil. The reason for this manipulation? To, when the time comes, alter the entire universe to be whatever force is mightier. After this learning this truth, Adam was reunited with his companions and placed back on the search for King Hiss. (**Return to Eternia – Book Three: Secrets**)

King Hiss unleashed the last beast of the First Age- Pythor – upon Castle Grayskull as an act of revenge. She-Ra was eventually able to calm the monster and King Hiss and his minions were taken. However, the damage done to He-Man and the Sorceress' trust was not as easily handled. Meanwhile, Skeletor appeared on Eternia and recruited Shadow Weaver for a mission. (**Return to Eternia – Book Four: Serpents**)

This mission would be delayed, though, by the arrival of Hydron and Flipshot from Primus. They revealed to Eternos that shortly after He-Man left the Tri-Solar System, Horde agents attempted to wage war against them. Luckily, the new peace allowed a swift victory. The combined forces of Primus and Denebria then learned that as the Horde Empire falls apart due to civil wars, Horde Prime was seeking the ultimate weapon: a spell that could destroy entire worlds. This spell was locked in the mind of Hordak, who himself was a prison of Eternos. With the help of a dozen worlds, Eternia fought off what was left of the Horde's vast armies. In midst of battle, Adam and Teela's love was endangered due to Adam's loss of faith in himself and the arrival of an old lover. But in the end, both were emboldened by each other and their relationship grew stronger. (**A Winter's Heart**)

In time, all the secrets regarding He-Man's absence on both Eternia and Etheria came revealed. Teela's pregnancy, the conquering of Eternia, the darkening of Etheria, the near-suicide of Adora . . . all came out. (**The Shroud of the Horde **and **The Shroud of the Horde: Prelude to Hope**)

Randor and Marlena soon returned to Eternia, partially thanks to a plot hatched by the now President Marzo. Marzo's own plans fell apart thanks in part to Skeletor, to whom Marzo now serves . . . for now. However, see just how much of a great job their children did, Randor and Marlena decided to step down and allow Adam and Adora to retain King- and Queen-ship. (**Across All Worlds – Book One: Earth**)

Not long after this, Etheria was at long last restored by Light-Hope. This led to the ancient foretold battle between Light-Hope and Dark-Hope to come manifest. In the end, Light-Hope was victorious. After the battle, SeaHawk and Adora married. (**Across All Worlds – Book Two: Etheria**)

Months ago, during the time when the Tri-Solar System alliance fought the rogue Horde agents Calyx, Elementor, and Garton – Skeletor and Crita returned. Dumping Crita on Denebria, Skeletor had only one thing on his mind: revenge. He returned to the chamber and after one last encounter with Scare-Glow, Skeletor re-energized the Sword of Darkness. After this, he recovered the Jewel of Amara and restored Faker. Then, leaving with a prototype ship, he left the Tri-Solar System . . . with every intention of coming back. Presently, Skeletor struck at Central Tower and recovered the Ram Skull to his Havoc Staff, thus officially announcing his presence to He-Man and the rest of Eternia. (**Across All Worlds – Book Three: Tri-Solar System**)

Adam told Adora of his encounter with Skeletor and then told her of everything he had learned about the Cosmic Enforcers. Adora insisted they go to Castle Grayskull and talk to the Sorceress. While the Sorceress was forbidden to say anything, Veena the Goddess arrived and revealed to them all of the secret history of Eternia – including the Ape-Clan, Snake-Clan, King Grayskull, Serpos, Veena, Vipera, the Cosmic Enforcers, the Ancients, the Energy Beast, the Council of Elders, King Hiss, the Snake-Men, He-Ro, King Gray, the Light Warriors, Hordak, Horde Prime, Teelana, . . all of it.

In the aftermath, Adam and Adora constructed a new plan to at last deal with the Cosmic Enforcers and the Starseed. Thus far, all that is known is that it entails contacting Master Sebrian, the Galactic Council, and the Starchild.

Meanwhile, Skeletor prepares to make his move and begin his next part of his final plan . . .

In light of all this, Teela and Adam have gotten engaged. (**Across All Worlds – Book Four: Eternia**)

* * *

ENDINGS AND EPILOGUES

The Final Volume of the "Tales of Masters of the Universe" Fanfiction Saga

_Book One: Protection_

* * *

Prelude

Springtime on the Dark Hemisphere was different from any other time of year in that plants tried to desperately grow on the Valley of Storm's north bank. Unfortunately for the young, desperate seedlings, they never last more just a few days. The unstable mountain range to the west caused quakes that drown the plants with rocks just as they peek at the occasional stray sunbeam. However, evolution found a way to fight this. Every spring, as soon as the first plant breaks surfaces, hyper-potent pollen is jetted out the top – ensuring another year of desperation on the north bank of the Valley of Storm.

In the Dark Hemisphere, desperation is part of life. Part of the struggle. Much like the plant, dark rises up against the light – only to smashed back down. But it always finds a way to rise again; desperately trying again and again.

As Skeletor, formerly Keldor of Eternos, entered the Valley of the Storm, he sought to break that cycle for himself. Months of pulling strings, of watching over certain events, of securing certain loyalties . . . it had been leading to this. In the coming day and possibly weeks, he ultimate goal would be realized.

Eternia.

Grayskull.

The childhood desires of power and knowledge and domination still burned within even after he had lost his face and his name. He had been blocked for so long by those that rose against him. First Randor, and now Randor's son – He-Man. Their seemingly endless struggle had taken them across the very stars. And now . . . it had taken them back to their homeworld.

"Snake Mountain."

The voice came from Faker, He-Man's cyborg 'evil twin.'

Skeletor looked up and saw the corpse of Serpos strangling the spiky and craggy mountain, the Blood Falls pouring off the south edge. He was filled with a sense of nostalgia. How many years had it been since he stood here with Hordak by his side? How long had it been since he claimed it as his own?

"Indeed," he answered.

"Can't they see us?" asked President Marzo. Skeletor's new addition to his little motley crew was no stranger to Eternia – and manipulation.

"No. Tri-Klops was contacted before we arrived. All eyes are elsewhere." Skeletor's teeth grinded together. "She will have no idea I am coming."

* * *

Evil-Lynn was no one's fool.

While ever since He-Man had returned from space, rumors had been going around about Skeletor, the rumors were sounding more and more true. She felt the need to move things along. Show Skeletor that she was strong without him, that she wasn't just sitting behind the stone walls.

And then . . . just like that, he was there.

She gasped. She wasn't even thinking. She simply walked into the throne room and Skeletor once more sat upon the throne of bones and skulls, cloak flowing over the arms and underneath on the seat. On his belt was the Sword of Darkness, in his hand the Havoc Staff.

"Good evening, Evil-Lynn."

"Skeletor?!"

Her eyes darted to Skeletor's left, where Marzo and Faker stood, watching her.

"I . . ." she began.

He stood up, cloak rippling behind him as he did. "We had such a pleasant farewell, my dear, perhaps we could have just as pleasant a 'welcome home?'"

She bowed on one knee. "Whatever you say, my master. I am . . . overjoyed at your return."

"Are you now?"

"Of course, Skeletor. Much has happened."

"I know. I have been watching."

"You – you have?" she asked, looking up, her pale face full of uncertainty.

"Stand up, Evil-Lynn. Are we not equals?"

She did so, but not without reluctance. "You've never regarded me as such."

"Ah, but I left in command of Snake Mountain, gave you all of my resources. You've earned your place as my equal, wouldn't you say?"

"I would be honored to say such a thing."

Skeletor paused and she tried to tell if what he thinking of her. He stepped back and circled her. "You've changed, Evil-Lynn."

"Have I?"

"Gained a little weight."

"That . . . something happened."

"Did it?" he questioned. "How could _anything _happen, Evil-Lynn? Why, despite my instructions to maintain my forces and our stature here on Eternia, you allowed the very dignity of said forces and stature to rot away?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know of which I speak." He was in front of her now and stepped back a few feet. Before Evil-Lynn could move, the Havoc Staff zipped into Skeletor's clutches. He swung it forward. A force burst of telekinesis sent Evil-Lynn sailing back and slamming against the back wall.

"Skeletor! Wait!"

"For what? Excuses? I built an army! And you let it all go to waste!"

"All are loyal and ready for your command!" she argued, struggling against invisible magic bonds.

"And command them I will!" Skeletor shouted. "Unlike you, that is."

"Skeletor . . ."

"SILENCE!"

Her mouth closed, the lips sealed shut. But she didn't need her lips. Her magic was subtle enough. Skeletor hadn't changed. He was too engrossed in his prideful speeches to notice the little things. Her fingers twitched just a little and she could feel the necessary connection made.

"I spent five years groveling to a moron while you made alliances and deals with my greatest of enemies. Hordak, Hiss, HE-MAN! HE-MAN, BY ALL THE EVILS! You stood by while Hordak and He-Man built empires! You gave Hiss refuge!"

Evil-Lynn was spun upside down. "Your loyalty always wavered, dear Evil-Lynn, but I never thought you would betray me like _this._ You sold out to them. You sold your very loyalty. And now . . . you shall pay."

At that moment, Evil-Lynn's staff came flying into the throne room. There was a mighty crash as her bonds were instantly broken. The staff flew into her hands and soon as she rolled onto the floor. Skeletor's reaction was delayed.

The pair swung their staves forward. A sound like thunder echoed throughout Snake Mountain as invisible magic fields collided. The pair was pushed just a bit.

Lightning fired out from Evil-Lynn's left hand. It ensnared Skeletor's body, but with a wave of his hand, it was dismissed. Before she had time to launch a counter-attack, Skeletor let loose a beam of red energy from his right hand. It struck her mid-section, but Evil-Lynn had blocked the blunt of the beam with a force field.

"What is going on?" asked Blade, arriving with some of the Evil Warriors.

"SKELETOR!" shouted Beast-Man.

Skeletor paid them no mind. Neither did Evil-Lynn. The pair exchanged intense lighting bolts connected to their staves.

"What is happening here?" questioned Webstor.

"Why is he fighting Evil-Lynn?" wondered Spikor.

"Something isn't right . . ." grunted Saurod.

"Why do you say that? Skeletor's back and running the show now. Lynn's gotta problem wit' that," Whiplash replied.

"Like a duel. Battle of honor," Mer-Man added.

"Whoever wins, get Snake Mountain, right?" asked Clawful.

The lightning grew even more intense as both Evil-Lynn and Skeletor started to come closer to each other and chanting quietly. Magic spells were being cast and repelled so very quickly that the magic energy involved was manifesting in lighting bolts and occasional force fields.

"This is no duel," Ninjor told them.

Lightning struck the ceiling, causing a few loose stone to come down upon the pair. Other lightning bolts attended to them before they caused any harm.

"It's a battle," Ninjor then finished.

"She's been making all the calls," tossed in Karg. "It was like I've been saying. All of these alliances have been stabs in Skeletor's back."

"Whoa!" Stinkor shouted, leaping behind Two-Bad as a stray lightning bolt almost took off his head.

"Never thought I'd see this," Trap-Jaw said to Tri-Klops. "Knew it would come to something, but never . . . this. What do you think, Trike?"

Tri-Klops said nothing and simply watched with one singular eye.

There was a sudden burst of power and light. The heads of both staves slammed together. The magic roared and exploded, tossing Evil-Lynn and Skeletor in opposite directions.

Evil-Lynn was on her feet in an instant. Just as Skeletor was starting to stand, a burst of magic fired from her staff and struck his. The Havoc Staff went flying his grasp and clattered across the room. He was about to summon it to him when Evil-Lynn struck again, a wide-beam of green energy overcoming Skeletor. He staggered back, the hood of his cloak flying back.

"How dare you!?" she shouted at him. "HOW DARE YOU COME BACK HERE AND TELL ME I WAS DISLOYAL!? I DID THIS ALL FOR YOU, SKELETOR! I PRESERVED YOUR STRENGTH!"

"By making the wrong deals, Evil-Lynn. You should have known better."

The wide-beam dispersed. Evil-Lynn stood ready, her staff in her hands and at hip-level, poised to strike. Skeletor reached over and pulled out the Sword of Darkness. She could handle a sword fight; Evil-Lynn was aware of the Sword of Darkness's lack of power.

She was wrong.

Dead wrong.

Skeletor pointed it at Evil-Lynn's staff. Immediately, the staff began to shake violently in her hands. But for all her will, she could not let it go. She looked to the Sword of Darkness and saw that it was now glowing crimson.

"You've underestimated me for the last time, Evil-Lynn."

The vibration increased greatly in her hands. She looked to the orb at the end of the staff. It started to crack just a little . . . then it exploded into shards of glass. Her eyes turned to the staff. It too exploded, wood tearing through her hands. She yelled out in both pain and shock. Blood poured from her hands, large splinters of wood embedded from her hands to her upper arms.

"Skeletor!" she yelled out.

"No more."

Evil-Lynn was tossed to the ground and telekinetically pinned there. Green smoke began to rise from her body. Her magic was actually leaving her! Her eyes turned to Skeletor and he now held both the Sword of Darkness and the Havoc Staff in his hands. Her body began to turn slowly, but started to pick up speed. She was spinning in a circle, her head almost like an anchor. The green smoke rose more and more from her.

"Oh dear Lynn . . . you and I shared so much . . ."

"Skeletor! No more!"

"I hate to see it end like this, but this is the price you must pay."

She looked to the Evil Warriors, who stared in disbelief. She looked to Tri-Klops. The man that had been her lover closed all three of his eyes and turned his back to her.

"NO!" she shouted and tried to launch a spell. But none of it was working . . .

"Yes."

She was tossed back onto her feet, smoldering with green smoke. Skeletor sheathed the Sword of Darkness and raised his hand. He mouthed a few words that she recognized. Orange and red light formed around his hand . . . and then struck her.

Evil-Lynn's body seemed to burn away and vanished.

Shock and silence filled the throne room. Skeletor stood and looked upon where Evil-Lynn had once been. After a long moment, he turned back to the throne and sat down.

"Let this be a lesson to you all," he told his minions. "Disloyalty shall be punished."

"Is she dead?" asked Karg dared ask.

"No. She has been banished to the Dimension of Darkness. Saurod has been there."

Saurod visibly shuddered. "Yes."

"You were in the outer rim for nine hours. She has been cast into its darkest core for the rest of her life."

Again, Saurod shuddered. A little violently this time.

Skeletor sat back in his chair and looked them all over. At that moment, the mighty Panthor was at his side and took his place at Skeletor's feet.

"Who here is loyal to me?" Skeletor questioned.

All of the Evil Warriors – along with Faker and Marzo – bowed to Skeletor.

"Excellent," Skeletor said to his action. "Then let us begin. We have work to do . . ."


	2. Storm's a Brewin'

Chapter One: "Storm's a Brewin'"

"There's a storm moving in tonight, but everything should be clear after that. The next three days are going to be beautiful."

Adam didn't need to be told by Commander Philip that a storm was moving in. He could feel it. He could tell by the way people were walking, by the way the sun was almost too bright against the graying clouding the west, and even by the way Cringer was nervously tapping his tail and Clobber kept looking at the windows.

"Thank you, Commander. Should be good launch weather, then, huh?"

"Yes sire," Philip answered. "I'll brief you on any up-dates."

"Thank you."

Philip nodded and left the throne room. Adam leaned back in the throne of his father and sighed a little. The past week had been way busy with plans on top of plans. His communications were Master Sebrian had been frequent. The development of his plan with the Galactic Council had been going well, but it was now apparent that he needed to leave Eternia to see them through.

Had this been before last week, he would have felt better about it. But now with Skeletor back, the amount of pressure on the decision was increased. Contact with Snake Mountain was impossible, though scouts reported no new activity. Adam knew he had no choice but to leave Eternia, but he was making sure it was well in hand while he was gone.

The Great Rebellion was scheduled to arrive on Eternia tomorrow.

The hope was that they could hold Skeletor and whatever he had planned off long enough for Adam to return to Eternia.

"King Adam," came a voice through the comm-line. It was U-R, one of the androids manning the _Starship Eternia._ "There is a priority secure transmission from Primus waiting for you."

"I'll be there in a minute," Adam said, standing up. He looked to Cringer, who was napping. "Coming, Cringer?"

"You kidding me?" Cringer questioned, looking up with one big lazy eye. "There's a storm coming. I'll get out there, it'll start to rain, and I'll be soaked to my bones."

Adam smiled. "Alrighty."

The plan Adam had conceived was fairly simple . . . in theory. Using Master Serbian's connections with the Galactic Council, Adam hoped to convince them to separate from the Cosmic Enforcers and thus, rendering the Starseed into his hands and painting them as the manipulators. Somehow the Starchild was involved in this, but he wasn't quite sure how. Yet.

He walked up into the Starship Eternia and activated the comm-line. Once it was completely secured, Master Sebrian appeared on the monitor.

"Good afternoon, King Adam."

"Good afternoon, 'uncle,'" he said with a smirk. "How does this day find you?"

"Well. And you?"

"Fair. We're still planning on the launch. Do you have a better idea as to what's going on?"

"Yes," Sebrian responded and sighed a little. "It is a complicated matter, but you will in fact need to go to Pax, the homeworld of the Galactic Council."

"As we assumed."

"Yes. And like we discussed, you'll need the support of as many worlds as you can muster."

"Orko has contacted his uncle on Trolla and he'll meet us on Pax. I've also spoken with Queen Angella of Etheria and Queen Elmora of the neighboring world of Phantos. Both are sending representatives with us. What about you?"

"Primus, Nekron, and Denebria will all be in support of you and your initiative – as well as Makkina, Omega 4, Vitrion, Equinos, Zil, Danzig, and Crelus. All these worlds owe a debt to you."

"It was my duty to help them . . . but I'll be more than happy to take their support. Representatives are heading to Primus, then?"

"Yes. How soon can you be here?"

"It's a three day trip, so probably four days. From Primus, how long is it to Pax?"

"Four more standard days, unfortunately. And then there's the negotiation process."

Adam sighed. "There's no way to speed things up?"

"No, I'm sorry. I know you are concerned about Skeletor's return, but I feel this is the right thing to do."

Nodding, Adam silently thought of when he left Eternia the first time nearly six years ago. It was the right thing then, too, and then Hordak attacked and everything fell apart. But it would be different this time. He was sure of it.

"I'll be there, Master Sebrian."

"We'll be waiting for you, Adam. Primus out."

Adam clicked off the comm-line then left the Starship Eternia. As soon as he did, there was far away sound of thunder. He looked the west and saw dark clouds looming ominously.

* * *

Gorn City, Denebria.

Staghorn walked along the seedy streets, holding in his hand a disc that would regain the honor of both him and his associates. The information contained on it was just too good. Too important. He walked towards his decrepit apartment building and all that he passed looked at the former Enforcers with an eye of caution. Once upon a time, the look would have been that of fear.

But now . . . it was the shadow of fear. All because Flogg was tired of war. Staghorn felt anger building in his gut at the thought of his former leader standing down and surrendering. What right did he have to do such a thing? How dare he speak for all Mutants? Following Flogg had been a mistake.

He entered his apartment and sat down in front of his computer. Much of it had been stolen and some of it had been a gift . . . from Skeletor. Staghorn had been Skeletor's eyes and ears on Denebria, though due to the Horde attack, their communications had been less and less frequent due to the electro-magnetic activity.

The comm-line flickered to life. One of Skeletor other minions answered the call. Marzo or something.

"This is Staghorn. Get me Skeletor," Staghorn told the minion.

Marzo rolled his eyes. "One moment, you lowly cur." There was a pause and then Skeletor appeared on the screen.

"Report."

"I have information, Skeletor. I know you were planning on waiting until later to return to Denebria, but I was given this disc. It contains information on a meeting being held on Pax with the Galactic Council."

"And?"

"He-Man himself is going to be there – along with the Galactic Guardians. A window of opportunity has just opened up for you."

Skeletor lifted his head up. "Indeed it has. You're right, this does change things . . . but not for the worse. My plans will be accelerated." He tapped his chin. "Gather the Enforcers, Staghorn. I'll be on Denebria in five days." He paused then. "And find Flogg for me."

"What about Crita?"

"I can certainly make do without her."

* * *

"Still planning a long engagement?"

Teela looked up from the report and saw Ileena standing before. "Oh hey, yeah. When did you get to Eternos?"

"An hour ago. It's really raining out there."

"No kidding. Uh, yeah, we're planning a long engagement. Too much work going on and with Skeletor back, it's a pretty tense situation."

Ileena nodded and sat down. "I see. You know, I'm pretty surprised to see you two together. I mean, I'm really happy for you, but it's a bit of a surprise. I never pictured you and Adam together."

Teela grinned. "Yeah, well, that's love. Everything I cared about Adam and He-Man rolled together in once convenient package."

"So all that silliness and laziness? It was what? A big lie?"

Teela sighed a little and sat back. "I wouldn't put it that way, but I guess in a way, yeah, it was."

"Huh. So, uh, how can you trust him now?"

Much to her own surprise, Teela didn't even think about this. Even after everything they gone through when Mara came around in December, Teela had never even thought of a lack of trust with Adam. Her fingers played with ribbon around her wrist.

How long did take him to even tell her about the manipulation?

"Sorry!" Ileena shouted. "I didn't mean to throw those doubts at you. I was just . . . blah blah blah. You know me, right? Miss negative!"

Teela forced a smile. "Uh, yeah. Heheh. That's right. Well, hey, I trust him. That's what matters, right?"

"Right! And you love him, too!"

"Yes, that too."

As if on cue, Adam walked into the room. "Hello ladies. Ileena."

"Hey Adam!"

"Hi sweetie," Adam greeted Teela, kissing her on the cheek. She smiled and stiffened up. "Ileena, I hate to be a bother, but could you give Teela and me a minute or two alone?"

"Sure. Catch ya later!"

As soon as Ileena left, Adam turned to his fiancée. "I know you're busy with that report, but there's been a development with Sebrian."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. We're leaving for Primus tomorrow. I've pretty much picked the group. It took some convincing, but Starchild is coming with us. Some of the Heroic Warriors are escorting here as we speak."

"Who else?"

"Roboto to look after Starchild. Moss Man insisted I take Woodsman too."

"Why?"

"He said that Woodsman needed to learn that being guardian of nature is more than just action, it's also protection and negotiation. So, he's in. Glimmer and Kowl is coming to represent Etheria. I had to tear her and Bow apart for her to come. There's also Queen Elmora's emissary Talas. Orko, too. And, last but not least, me."

Teela nodded. "Sounds like a crowd. Got room for two more?"

"Hrm?"

"I'd like to go. And I'd like to bring Addison with me."

Adam perked an eyebrow. "Um, are you sure?"

She placed a hand on his. "Adam, as much as trouble as we've faced, you and I . . . we've seen some pretty remarkable things. I know it'll be dangerous, but I want Addison to see this. I want him to see these alien worlds and the stars above us close-up."

"I . . . well, it'll be tight, but I think we can manage it. As long as you're sure."

"I am."

"Excuse me, Adam?"

Adam looked to the door and saw his mother, Queen Marlena, standing there. "I just happened to overhear . . . I'd like to go as well."

"Mother, I'm not sure . . ."

"Not sure of what, son?" asked Marlena. "I'm a space explorer, remember? It's what brought me here in the first place. This might just be my final chance to see the stars up close. I'd like to go."

"What about father?"

"Leave Randor to me, honey."

Adam looked to Teela, who gave him a supportive. Sighing, but shaking his head, he turned to Marlena. "Pack lightly, Mom. It's going to be crowded."

* * *

Later that night . . .

It wasn't the sheering rain nor the ferocity of the storm that awoke Adam in the middle of the night. No . . . it was the blare of alarms. Flashing red lights filled his apartment, accompanied by a loud 'honking'-type noise. He was out of bed in a flash.

Cringer was by his side and the Sword of Power in his hand as the monitor told him the Alarm Code. Code 42.

There was knock on the door and then the door opened. The commanding officer that shift was Commander Thorn, son of Iggy. He looked to the King.

"Your majesty, there's a situation at the Maximum Mega-Prison."

Adam nodded. "Awake the others. Assume procedures." He then lifted the Sword of Power above his head. "I'm heading over there now."

Commander Thorn stepped back out of the room.

"BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL . . ." Adam shouted out. The Sword of Power responded by channeling the power of Grayskull to Adam and changing him into He-Man. "I HAVE THE POWER!" All was complete when He-Man transformed Cringer into Battle-Cat.

He leapt onto Battle-Cat's back and the pair leapt off the balcony. Below, the pair were seen silhouetted against a lightning bolt. On Battle-Cat, it didn't take He-Man very long to leave the city and to start on the road towards the mountain prison where Hordak and King Hiss were being held.

The Maximum Mega-Prison had been refurbished after Horde Prime had demolished most of it. The top part was rebuilt – a domed building at the peak of the mountain. The cells themselves were still in the base of the mountain, but were now completely surrounded by secondary chamber working with three rotations of Royal Soldiers. The walls were thickly reinforced and everything was running on ten independent generators. Smaller versions of the Magic Stealer were in their cells. In addition to this, at least two Heroic Warriors were always on duty.

If anything – anything – out of the ordinary occurred, the entire place went into lock-down. The Royal Guards below were teleported out, the lift down halted in the shaft and the stairs ready to be collapsed at the touch of a finger. Gas and/or freeze rays were ready to take out Hordak or Hiss. In addition to this, blast shields were in place over the cell viewing windows.

Lastly, if something went wrong, the alarms were sounded.

Hence He-Man's presence.

He-Man arrived, soaking wet from the rain. Outside, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed.

"Situation."

The door flew open and She-Ra and Swift-Wind entered, also just as wet. Her cape flowed over her body like a cloak.

"I see we're still in one piece," She-Ra commented. "What happened?"

Mekaneck – who was on duty with Rio-Blast that night – walked over. "There was a spike in mystical energy."

"From which one?" asked She-Ra.

"Both. From what we can determine, there was some sort of connection that existed between Hordak and Hiss. It lasted under two seconds by the time the Magic Stealer stopped it and got rid of it."

He-Man looked to his sister. "Trouble?"

"Maybe. Let's check it out."

He-Man and She-Ra walked to their stairs and rushed down them. In a matter of minutes, they arrived in the main cell area, where Rio-Blast was standing by, all weapons primed. The blast doors stood over the cell viewing windows.

"What happened?"

"Don't know fer sure," Rio-Blast answered. "There was quick bolt of blue lightning that fired first from Hordak to Hiss, then back to Hordak. Lasted just a second or two."

She-Ra looked to the blast door. On it was a small monitor showing what Hordak was doing. He was sitting, cross-legged, and a bowl of water in left hand – his only hand. He was often seen in the pose of late, apparently in some state of meditation. It had unnerved She-Ra when she him like this, as she was starting to think he was up to something.

"He wouldn't respond to us like that," She-Ra said.

"I didn't think so," He-Man replied. He turned to the blast door monitor in Hiss' cell. Hiss was sitting in a metal chair, his snake heads writhing a little. The former master of the Snake-Men looked . . . relaxed.

He-Man opened the blast door and King Hiss looked at them, his heads studying the trio.

"Ah, the guests have arrived, I ssssee."

"What happened here, Hiss?" He-Man demanded.

"Hordak's been meditating. Trying to tap into the magic of the Elders that still resides at least somewhat within him. As far as I can tell, he believes that since he is on Eternia, then he'll be able to access that magic."

She-Ra nodded a little. "But he can't."

"He's been trying . . . but you're right. It'ssss a failure already. The closest thing he was able to do was tap into the power that Elders used to bind me in the Void. It was pulled from me, touched him briefly, and then – I asssume – was taken away."

"You assume correctly," He-Man replied.

"He-Man, She-Ra . . . something is happening with Hordak," Rio-Blast said, pointing to the monitor.

The pair turned to the monitor watched as Hordak threw the bowl of water across the room. It shattered. Hordak was on his feet, his pale blue jumpsuit looking dirty and unkempt.

"Open the blast doors," She-Ra stated.

He-Man complied. As soon as they opened completely, Hordak turned to face them, his crimson eyes wide. Hiss, He-Man, She-Ra, and Rio-Blast watched him carefully as he walked towards the glass.

"I have had a vision. In the fleeting second that the Elders power came to me, I beheld a vision," Hordak said, almost like he was in a trance.

"What did you see?" asked She-Ra, though she couldn't be sure of anything that was coming out of his mouth. Hordak was not only a liar, but after his use of the Sword of the Deception and the death of Horde Prime, he had quickly lost his mind. The depths of madness were vast.

"Protection. Deception. Darkness. And Power. War. Battle." He paused and looked down for a moment, eyes closed hard. After a moment, he looked back up. "Eternos. Snake Mountain. The Great Towers. Primus. The Crystal Castle. Denebria. The Whispering Woods. The Fright Zone. Nekron. Kingdom Brightmoon. Castle Grayskull. All roads converge."

He-Man perked an eyebrow. How did Hordak know about Nekron?

"What else?" He-Man then asked. "What else did you see?"

Hordak looked eyes with He-Man. "A storm. A storm to end all storms. Violent. Loud. Destructive. Beautiful. Nothing shall escape its path." Hordak then looked She-Ra in the eyes. "The last storm. War. Battle. Apocalypse. Armageddon." Then, looking upwards and revealing his fangs. "Rohanna'Rota."


	3. Beyond the Moons and Into the Stars

Chapter Two: "Beyond the Moon and into the Stars"

The next morning, the air was wet and smelled of rain. But the sun was shining brightly in the sky, blazing against a blue backdrop. Huge white clouds hung here and there. Adam didn't go back to sleep after his return from the Mega-Prison. Instead, he spent the rest of his night restlessly wondering if this was the right decision. But he knew immediately that it had to be done. That it must be done.

"Adam," Teela said, walking over. "The Great Rebellion is arriving."

"Good," Adam replied, nodded, then paused. "Teela, is this the right thing to do?"

"I think so," she replied, wrapping her arms around his mid-section. "Why? Don't you?"

"I'm . . . I'm not sure, to be honest. I know this is needed, but the timing is pretty bad."

She perked an eyebrow. "And when would the time have been right? If Skeletor has been out there since at least you've been back, then leaving before we knew he was here would have been a bad move. Trust me, Adam, this is the right thing."

He kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

"Not a problem. Uh, hey, can we talk about something?"

"Can it wait?"

"I . . . I guess, yeah."

Adam smiled. "We'll talk later. Promise."

He walked off then, and headed to meet with Adora and SeaHawk. Teela sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Great."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent with last minute business to attend to. The afternoon arrived quickly and it too sped by. Before he knew it, Adam was standing in front of the Starship Eternia with its passengers. After signing a few final papers, Adam was pretty much cornered by Randor and Duncan.

"Adam, make sure your mother is well-protected."

"And Addison too. And Teela."

Adam raised his hands. "I'm on top of this."

"It's not that we don't trust you, son," Randor said.

"It's just that we don't one little hair on their heads out of place."

"What are you doing, dear?!" called Marlena from a few feet away.

"Nothing sweetheart!" Duncan called back. "Just having a few parting words with our son!" He turned back to Adam. "Seriously, though . . . keep an eye on your mother."

"And Teela and Addison."

"Yes, them too. Except your mother gets priority."

"Uh, I don't think so," Duncan responded, looking to Randor. "Your fiancée and soon-to-be step-son are higher priority."

"It's his mother, the queen!"

"Teela might as well be the queen."

"Duncan, come on, you know she's not the queen yet."

"Guys!" Adam interjected. "I can't choose one over the other. You forget. I'm He-Man. I can save _everyone._"

"That's all well and good, Adam," Randor returned, "but seriously. . . your mother takes - "

Adam put a hand on both their shoulders. "Listen, they'll be fine. Trust me."

Randor smirked. "All right, son. Have a good trip. Be safe." Then, embracing Adam, said: "I love you. And I'm very proud of you."

Adam hugged back. "Thank you, father. I love you too." He then turned to Duncan. "Keeps thing under control for me?"

"Of course, Adam. Hurry home."

Adam walked over to the gangway as his mother walked over to say her good byes to Randor and Duncan. Adora and SeaHawk were waiting for him.

"I should be back within a fortnight. If anything happens, let me know immediately and we'll be back as fast we can," Adam told them.

"I think I can handle Skeletor."

Adam grimed a little. "I have a feeling Skeletor is just part of problem. After last night's incident . . ."

"Adam, it's okay," Adora said, putting her hands on her twins shoulders. "I'll take care anything that happens."

"_We'll _take care of anything," SeaHawk jumped in. "I am the king, remember?"

"Yeah, that makes me feel better," Adam replied sarcastically.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Adam slapped SeaHawk on the shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do just fine," he told him genuinely.

"Thanks. Have a good trip."

"Good journey," Adam told him, then turned to his sister and kissed her on the cheek. "Good journey, Adora."

"Good journey, Adam."

With that, Adam stepped up into the Starship Eternia, joining the rest of the crew. Marlena walked over and hugged-and-kissed Adora and SeaHawk before she too entered the Starship Eternia.

"Good journey, grandpop!" yelled out Addison as he walked up the gangway.

"Good journey, Addison! Bring me back a souvenir!"

The group backed up as the engines to the Starship Eternia flared to life.

"Let's hope they don't take too long," SeaHawk said as the ship began to lift up.

"Let's hope they don't bring trouble back with them," Adora followed up grimly.

* * *

"Engines activating," U-R reported. "Starship Eternia will be jumping to Trans-Hyperspace in fifteen minutes, followed by a halt at Phantos."

"Excellent," Adam replied.

"When we break orbit, how about those piloting lessons, Gleep?" asked Marlena.

Adam perked an eyebrow. "Piloting lessons?"

"Of course! Gleep has been showing me just how to fly this thing. This will be my chance to do so in real life."

Smiling, Adam turned to Glimmer. "Will wonders ever cease?"

"I suppose not," she replied.

"Look it!" shouted Addison, pointing to the window. "The moons!"

Adam looked over and watched as the moons pass by. Addison ran over and practically smashed his face up against the glass. "WOW!" Addison yelped.

Starchild joined him. "They look so big up close!" she remarked.

"Pretty big, huh?" asked Adam.

"Yeah-huh!" Addison yelled out.

Orko zoomed over. "Did you know that people live on two of those moons?"

"My Momma told me, yeah."

Adam turned to Teela, who gave him a smile. "It's funny just what kids will go crazy for."

"Oh, I don't know, Adam," Marlena replied. "On Earth, pretty much everyone that wasn't involved in the space program has never seen the moons from this angle."

"We've never seen Bright Moon up close," Glimmer stated. "My people regard it with such revere that it would be a pleasure to see like this."

"Maybe you'll get that chance, Glimmer," Teela said.

"Preparing Trans-Hyperspace jump," Gleep stated then.

The ship jerked up a bit and the stars vanished briefly, replaced by a blue light. The stars reappeared, but were joined by a pulsing ripple of blue as they sped through space.

"Arrival in 27 minutes," U-R said then.

* * *

Talas stood next to Queen Elmora as the Starship Eternia began its final descent. "King Adam and those under his command are good people, Talas," Elmora advised her. "Follow his lead and you shall not be led into wrongness."

"I understand, my lady," Talas replied, raven black hair flailing in the wind as the Starship Eternia landed. She smoothed out her skirt and rolled her shoulders.

"Do not be nervous," Elmora said then.  
"I am not," returned the emissary of Phantos.

The gangway opened up and Adam and Glimmer exited. "Queen Elmora!"

"King Adam. A pleasure to see you once more. This is emissary Talas. She will represent Phantos in your delegation."

"A pleasure," Adam said, shaking Talas' hand. "This is Princess Glimmer, representing Etheria."

"Nice to meet you," Glimmer said to Talas.

"The same."

"Your majesty," Glimmer then said to Queen Elmora.

"Princess. I do believe this is the first time our two peoples have met," Queen Elmora said.

"It is. In fact, this is the first time all three of our worlds have worked together like this," Glimmer added.

"A historic occasion," Elmora said. "When it is all over, we should all break bread here together to celebrate."

"Count on it," Adam told her.

Then, with some parting words, Talas followed Adam and Glimmer into the Starship Eternia.

She was introduced to everyone – Starchild, Queen Marlena, Teela, Addison, Roboto, Gleep, U-R, Orko, Cringer, and the Woodsman. When she got to the Woodsman, Talas had to do a double-take.

"I don't mean to sound rude," she said, "but what species are you?"

"Eternian human."

"Uh . . . why are you made out of wood?"

"I'm a Guardian."

Talas smiled. "Tell me more."

* * *

The next two days seemed to just rush by. Adam was pouring over up-dates from Master Sebrian and had fielded two calls from Eternia. Teela, noting her fiancé's stress, avoided the conversation she so desperately wanted to have with him. The discussion she had had with Ileena only a few days before seemed to haunt her, but she dared not distract Adam from his duties.

It was still so strange for her to see Adam like this. Steeled, reserved. He had taken on many of He-Man's quirks – his iron will, his determination, the ability to throw himself into any situation. She never thought she would see Adam be like that. But there he was. It had all been sitting under the surface until he would pull out that trusty ol' Sword of Power . . .

Addison had spent most of his time with Starchild, Cringer and Orko, playing games or watching Orko do mercifully safe magic tricks. Starchild had been a special interest to Glimmer, who was trying to gently figure out just how Starchild was manifesting such amazing and skilled abilities.

Talas and the Woodsman seemed to hit it off, quickly becoming friends. They were roughly the same age, which seemed to help. Roboto was keeping to himself, but assisted Adam often.

Teela had actually spent most of her time with Marlena, who was versing her on royal protocol and just what it meant to be a queen of Eternos. It turned out it was a lot more complicated than she realized.

Shortly after dinner on that second day, a proximity alarm buzzed from the sensor board, garnering the attention from U-R.

"There appears to be ship on an intercept course," he told Adam.

"What kind of ship?"

"Unknown."

"Can you identify who it belongs to?"

"It is not listed in our databases."

"Show me."

A hologram of the ship appeared before the now-gathering group. It was long and boxy with twin engines coming out from the end. It had the look of something old and reused.

"How long until they reach us?" asked Teela.

"Thirteen seconds."

"What?"

At that moment, the Starship Eternia shook violently, everyone being thrown left. Smoke filled the bridge. U-R and Gleep reestablished themselves and went to work at the controls.

"Shields up!" Adam barked. "Activate weapons and lock them! Open communications!"

"They are ignoring our calls," Gleep returned.

The ship shook again, but the shields luckily dampened the attack. Lasers and missile returned to the attacking vessel, but were shrugged off. Their shields were apparently very powerful. The attacking vessel fired again, once more rocking the ship.

"We need to take evasive maneuvers," Adam ordered. He paused then and turned to Marlena and Teela. "Mother, Teela, take the pilot chairs. U-R, Gleep, work the weapons." Up to the point, he had been the one working the weapons.

"What about you?" asked Glimmer.

"We've got a pair of Astrosubs down below. Time to put one of them to good use."

Adam left the bridge, leaving Marlena and Teela to man the navigational controls. Marlena took the pilot's chair while Teela took the co-pilots.

"What do you know about flying this thing?" asked Marlena.

"Very little," Teela responded, hopefully pressing the right keys.

"Good. We're a little over even." Marlena shoved a panel forward and another to the side. The Starship Eternia went into a bit of a spin. She centered the panels. "Okay. I think I've got my sea legs."

"Your what?" asked Teela, check the read-outs on speed and angles.

The ship rocked.

"You two robots! Open fire! Teela, just try and keep up with me."

"Yes, your majesty."

Marlena grinned proudly. "Call me 'Captain.'"

* * *

The Astrosub blasted out of the launching bay and zoomed out of the Starship Eternia. He-Man was at the controls, Adam having transformed right before launching. Weapons locked onto target and fired heavily. Explosions roared silently against the impregnable shield of the attacking ship. Their weapons returned, striking the Astrosub's own shields.

"We need to get through those shields," He-Man grunted to himself as he banked left and down to avoid a laser beam.

He glanced at the Starship Eternia and watched as it too avoided one of two beams. The seconds grazed the shields and he watched as they weakened. The Astrosub took advantage and fired as the enemy fired again. The shields were still stable.

He-Man suddenly had a small burst of inspiration.

"Starship Eternia, fire weapons at grid section 17-Beta-3 on my mark."

"Acknowledged," came the voice of U-R through the comm-line.

"Mark!"

Two pulses of laser fire was unleashed from the Astrosub while the Starship Eternia fired four and two missiles. A massive explosion came about and He-Man watched as the shield shifted out of phase. The top part of the hull was exposed.

"He-Man, when you receive our signal fire at the hull," Marlena then said their comm-line.

"What about you?"

"I've got it. Back off, let us through first."

He-Man turned the Astrosub away from the vessel. The Starship Eternia pitched forward, letting loose its weapons. The enemy was doing the same. He-Man winced as he heard the computer tout off that the shields to the Starship Eternia were down and the ship itself was taking serious damage to the engines.

"He-Man . . ." Teela began. "Move in." The comm-line was filled with static, which was not a good sign.

The Astrosub spun and flew fast at the enemy ship. He-Man unleashed a barrage of lasers and missiles. Mammoth explosions fired across the top of the enemy ship, huge sections of hull breaking off and flying into space.

The enemy vessel pulled away, fired a few more times on the Starship Eternia, then blasted away into the depths of space.

"What's the report?" asked He-Man.

"The ship is moving quickly out of sensor range," Roboto responded. "However, we have a more pressing emergency. The attack destroyed the Trans-Hyperspace generator. With it destroyed . . . we are stranded in space."


	4. Pit Stop

Chapter Three: "Pit Stop"

* * *

Master Sebrian's image was fuzzy and tended cut in and out. However, the audio worked just fine. "There is a world not far from your location that can facilitate your repairs. Malora Two. It's an outpost and trading world, but peaceful," he told them. This was two days ago. "We will meet with you there. There have been some very . . . interesting developments in your proposal." 

"What kind of developments?" He-Man had asked.

"Let's just say that you have very powerful friends in the higher-ups of the Galactic Council. We'll talk more when we arrive."

Shortly after this, the Starship Eternia was towed across the sector the two Astrosubs. This put a strain on the Astrosubs, but they arrived in a few hours. After arriving in orbit, the ships were brought to a small village and repair station on the coast one of three continents of Malora Two. Malora Two was a rather insignificant world. Only a few pockets of civilizations existed on its surface. It was rather out of the way, only really serving as part of a line of worlds that supplied systems in the outer sphere of the Galactic Council's reach.

The village and repair station were pretty much melded together. The locals were pretty much a mix of various races from across the known universe. The village's population was a support system for those that worked at the repair station. The whole thing was nestled in a rainforest between the ocean and towering mountains. It had a natural feel, as if there was nothing really to spare. Most of the buildings were made out of wood and the separation between repair station and village was almost non-existent.

No one really knew what to make of group, but the ship that attacked them was said to be a mercenary vessel that had been rumored to be stalking the sector and its local star systems for the past few weeks.

"These alien worlds always smell so strange," Cringer said as he, Adam, and Woodsman walked to the motel/saloon they were staying at.

"Tell me about it," Woodsman replied. "I tried conversing with the trees, but they're so snotty."

"Adam! Adam!" shouted Addison, running over, clutching a blue ball. "You wanna go play catch?"

"Sure!" Adam answered and nodded to Woodsman. "I'll catch up to you later. Cringer, you wanna come?"

"Nah, you go on," Cringer answered. "I'm gonna go take a nap."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Big surprise. Catch ya later, Cring."

Addison and Adam walked along one of the few roads in the village. A few bug-like aliens watched the pair curiously, but didn't really pay them much mind. They were more interested in the slug-like aliens who were headed into the saloon.

He and Addison took up a ball game in a small field just outside of the village. It was leisurely game, with Adam giving simple suggestions like 'Keep your eye on the ball' and 'Don't be afraid of the ball.' As they played, Adam started to notice little 'Teela-isms' manifesting themselves in Addison. At one point, Addison actually Adam the same look he had received from Teela just the day before.

As they continued their game of catch, Adam couldn't help but wonder about a life that he could have had. A life with Kathryn and their unborn child. It was strange, but the child that would have been his wasn't . . . and the child that wasn't his was. He had mourned, privately, the death of that child that he and Kathryn almost brought into the world . . . but that most certainly did not stop him from embracing Addison as his own flesh and blood.

"What's that?!" called out Addison.

Adam turned around. Coming out of the forest was a massive creature. It reminded Adam of the elephants his mother used to tell him about, but this thing seemed lighter on its feet and had long, thick hair flowing from its sides. Its head was almost dog-like.

"I'm not sure . . ." Adam replied, Addison walking behind him, Adam taking up a defensive position between them.

The creature honked loudly at them, but it was a far from threatening noise. Instead, it simply bent down, opened its shovel-like mouth and scooped a mouthful of dirt and grass. The creature then moved on.

"That was . . . interesting," Adam noted. "Wouldn't you say?"

"Big!"

"No kidding, son."

Adam couldn't believe he just said that. He couldn't believe it . . . but he kinda liked it.

There was a suddenly rumble from the mountains. His eyes looked over and he could see thick clouds starting to grow.

"Let's head back, buddy."

"Okay." Addison picked up his ball and the pair started on back to the village. "Adam? I gots a question I need to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Are you my new Daddy?"

"I . . ." Adam smiled broadly. "I am."

"Oh," Addison said, and his expression told Adam that he was thinking that over. "Okay. Yay!"

Addison hugged Adam's midsection. Adam bent down and hugged him proper. Right there, on some alien world that neither then heard of, on the fringes of a village they would never see again, Addison became – in an unofficial, but spiritual sense – Adam's son.

* * *

Denebria. 

Skeletor and President Marzo entered the atmosphere, the heat flashing across the glass sphere of the ship. After a few more minutes, they ship cooled down and they now hovered far above a vast plain filled with some of the ugliest plants the universe had ever seen. Skeletor liked it. That garden spot of Denebria.

In the center of the land was a collection of dome-shape huts, all of which were connected. It was the home of Brakk, whose Mutant name was Flogg. Skeletor had only been here twice before, but had remembered actually enjoying it. Skeletor preferred the stark bleakness and the volcanic landscape of the Valley of Storms, but the Plains of Agnafran were just as nice.

The ship set down and both Skeletor and Marzo stepped out.

"I still don't understand why I'm here, Skeletor."

"Despite your sworn loyalty to me, Marzo, I don't trust you. Your annoying immortality makes it impossible for me to simply handle you, so . . . with me you shall go and you will show your usefulness somehow, I'm certain."

Marzo grumbled, but said nothing legible.

"Remain here," Skeletor ordered. It wasn't as though Marzo could take the ship; Skeletor held it's keypad in his belt pocket.

Skeletor rounded the house and saw Flogg in the back garden, hard at work in a patch of what Skeletor could only assume was vegetables.

"I knew it was only a matter of time," Flogg grumbled.

"You've spoken with Crita?" asked Skeletor.

"Spoken . . . and see her, yes," Flogg said, back still to Skeletor. "I was no fool. I knew you were working for me only to steal everything from under me. You came close, if not for He-Man."

"Praising the man who helped bring about your defeat, Flogg? How unlike you."

Flogg stood up and brushed black dirt off his pants. "It was not praise and it was no defeat. I surrendered. I was tired of battle." He turned completely to Skeletor.

"Surrender."

"The term is 'peace accord.'"

"You still lost."

"Does it matter? It's over, Skeletor. The war is over."

"And now you're a gardener."

Flogg sighed and headed towards the house. "In some ways."

Skeletor lifted up the Havoc Staff. "You know why I'm here."

"Yes, I suppose I do."

"Give it to me . . . or I will kill you."

Flogg shook his head. "Put that away and follow me."

The pair entered the house.

Marzo, on the other hand, did not remain where Skeletor left him. He began to walk around the house, seeking something to work with, something to either get Skeletor off his back or to turn the tables in their dynamic. Desperately, he searched for anything.

He walked back to a small building the backyard. He was just about circle it when he heard a baby crying from inside the hut. His eyes glanced in and saw a red-haired female Mutant within. His better judgment told him to leave, and he did. But President Marzo couldn't help but wonder . . .

* * *

"In here," Flogg commanded, leading Skeletor in a small, empty room full of various trophies and niceties. Flogg examined the walls . . . and found the spot he was looking for. He slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a huge gaping hole in it. Flogg then stuck his hand down in there and yanked out a small computer pad. He pressed a few keys, activating the computer pad, then handed it over to Skeletor.

"Where?" demanded Skeletor.

"The Quagmi Swamp."

Skeletor grunted. "Looks like it's visit to Slushead now."

"Tell him I said to stop sending me post cards. I really am glad I'm not there."

"Funny."

Flogg shrugged. "So . . . now what? Going to kill me?"

"No," Skeletor replied. "You're a coward, Flogg. You're weak and stupid and your pathetic war only really maintained itself when I was working with you."

"You spent five years acting like a fool, Skeletor. Who is the coward now?"

Skeletor 'smiled.' "When I am finished with Castle Grayskull, He-Man, and She-Ra . . . you are next on my list. And we shall see then who is acting like the fool."

Flogg smiled in return. "Indeed we shall."

With that, Skeletor turned and left. Flogg sighed and sat down in his chair. Outside, the engines of Skeletor's ship roared, vibrating the house as it lifted. As Flogg thought of the consequences of his actions, he realized he now had a choice in what to do next . . .

* * *

It was raining buckets on the village/repair station of Malora Two. Adam walked along the stairs to his room in the late evening, feeling better about just about everything. While the weather was rather gloomy and chilly, the new relationship he had with his son – son! – Addison was a constant warmth. 

He entered his room and found Teela sitting in there, fresh out of his shower, making a pot of coffee.

"Hey sweetheart!"

"Hi," she answered and was kissed.

"What's wrong?"

"I think we need to have a talk."

"Is it about the thing with Addison? I mean, you don't have problem with that, do you?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Of course not. It's something I've wanted for a while. It's just . . ."

"What is it?" he asked, sitting down across from her.

"I guess . . . it's something that's been bothering me."

"Okay."

"I had a talk with Ileena before we left. About you."

"What about me?"

Teela paused and looked to her feet. "I . . ." She looked for the right words and jumped when they came to her. She turned back to him. "I need to know if I can trust you."

"Teela . . ."

"Adam, I mean it," she argued, grabbing his hands. "I mean it."

He pulled his hands away from her. "Trust me about what? With Addison?"

"No, no, of course I trust you with Addison," she replied harsher than she meant to.

"Then with what, Teela?"

"Everything! You kept so much for a secret for so long and - "

There was series of knocks on the door. Adam sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yes?"

"It is Blusterblog!" came a deep, scratchy voice. "Here with information."

"Come in," Adam said. Blusterblog was the head of the repair station. The door opened a squat, purple-colored, four-armed fat alien came bumbling in.

"Ships here, Adam-King-He-Man."

"Primian?" asked Adam.

"Two are Primian, yes. Yes. But there are three others."

"Three?" questioned Adam, glancing at Teela, who shared his confusion. "Who do the other ships belong to?"

"Galactic Council, to them these ships to-for-from-are. One Carrier and two Support ships for protection-security-help."

"You're saying someone from the Galactic Council has come here? To Malora Two?"

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes," he said rather rapidly, but without much excitement. "Primian name Sebrian want to see you soon-fast. After rain wet drops stop coming, he will be down. Soony."

Adam nodded. "Okay. What's the status of our ship?"

"Soon-fast."

"When?"

"By time moon light night soon."

"Okay. Thank you."

Teela looked to Adam. "We'll talk about this later."

"Yeah."

Teela stood up and headed for the door.

* * *

Adam slept dreamlessly. After he woke up in the next morning, the rain was gone and had been replaced by a fog. He showered quickly and dressed. Half-way though getting dressed, there was a knock at the door. He opened and saw the ever-familiar expression of Master Sebrian. 

"Hello Adam!" Sebrian greeted.

"Master Sebrian, so good to see you again," Adam replied, pulling on his shirt. "Where are the others? And Blusterblog mentioned there were three Galactic Council vessels in orbit?"

"Yes. It's the development I've been telling you about."

Adam followed Master Sebrian onto the balcony and down the stairs and into the saloon. Sitting at a table was about the last person Adam expected.

Her name was Gleedal. Tall, red-feathered with a bird-like peak, her planet had been conquered and decimated by a creature known as Plundor. He-Man had ended up on Gleedals' planet, and while amnesic, had overthrown Plundor and ended his reign. She now stood up right before him, her armor replaced by long, flowing robes.

"King Adam – also known as He-Man?" she asked.

"Yes. Gleedal, I'm pleased to see you, though I'm a little surprised . . ."

"I am on the Council of Nine, the highest ruling body of the Galactic Council. Because your name was attached to your proposal, it was sent straight up out of the lower courts and right to us. I have to say . . . it's a little radical."

"Can we sit?"

"Of course."

The three of them sat down. It was only then that Adam noticed Galactic Policemen standing all over the place, keeping the saloon secure and protecting Gleedal.

"What you are proposing is a major shift in the way the Galactic Council operates. The Cosmic Enforcers have been working with us since the beginning. Their influence spreads far beyond our reach. While I am far from discrediting your allegations, I am reluctant to take to the Council of Nine for a full vote." She paused a moment. "I am not telling you take to rescind it, but a full-out divorce between our two organizations is . . . difficult."

"It's a necessary change, Gleedal."

"I understand your opinion, but the neutrality of the Cosmic Enforcers sways me in this matter. They have offered great insight."

"Their neutrality on the natures of Good and Evil are exactly what has led them to this experiment. They've manipulated my world for thousands of years, shaping us so that we'd give them a definite result. Then, with the Starseed, they're going to reshape the cosmos to how they wish things to be. It's not right."

Gleedal looked at the folder in front of her. "I am not without some reservations, King Adam. But we shall take it the Council of Nine and decide there."

"I thank you, Gleedal."

"I owe you much, sire," Gleedal answered.

"Then let's make it even."

"And hope that is enough."


	5. Pax

Chapter Four: "Pax"

* * *

When Slushead heard the news, he quickly made for the coordinates. Word travels fast in the Quagmi Swamp and it didn't take him long for him to hear about the Mutant Enforcers reunion. It had been nearly a year since they had gone their separate ways. He arrived in short order, near a small grouping of trees near a mucky marshland.

"Hey guys!" he shouted to the Mutant Enforcers.

Staghorn rolled his eyes and turned to the others, they being Optikk, Lizorr, Hoove, Quakke, and Butthead. With them were three others not exactly associated with the Mutant Enforcers, but enemies of He-Man and Primus all the same – Genetix, Tri-Lock, and Bi-Lock.

"Oh great," Butthead groaned. "What is he doing here?"

"I thought you were tired of fighting, Slushead," Quakke commented.

"I am!" Slushead countered.

"Then what are you doing here?" questioned Hoove.

"I heard that you guys were in my neck of the swamp, so I thought I'd come out here and see ya!"

Staghorn shook his head. "Great, well, you've seen us, so . . . go away."

"Yep! I saw ya!"

"Now go."

"Awww, you're no fun – Hey! It's Skeletor!"

At that moment, Skeletor indeed appeared with President Marzo trailing behind him. "Slushead . . . gentlemen, Genetix."

"We await your command, Skeletor," Staghorn said, bowing.

"I'm a little surprised at this sudden burst of loyalty to me, Staghorn," Skeletor responded. "I was often shunned when we served Flogg."

"It's obvious to me and the others that you are a far better warrior and leader than Flogg ever was," Staghorn replied. "We will follow your lead now."

Skeletor nodded slowly. "Well, then," Skeletor returned, "you all share this sentiment?"

Nods of acknowledgement came from all around. Skeletor turned to Bi-Lock, Tri-Lock, and Genetix. "And you?"

They all agreed. Skeletor lifted up the computer pad and pressed a few keys.

The trees near the marshland all suddenly fell over. The ground itself opened up, revealing a concrete stairwell leading underground. Skeletor walked down it, computer pad still in his hands, the Mutants following him.

The stairs went down deep, but this was no surprise to Skeletor. After a few minutes of going down the stairs, they brought him to a long corridor. Skeletor and the Mutants walked this long corridor to a set of doors. Skeletor's fingers worked at the computer pad and the doors opened. The massive chamber on the other side was revealed and suddenly lit up.

A second Mothership sat in the center of this chamber. To its left and right were, in total, four Mutant Troop Transports.

"How long has Flogg been hiding this?" asked Genetix.

"I didn't know about it until Crita and I were in exile. She told me then," Skeletor answered. "It's incomplete. It has all the vital systems, but the shields aren't as strong and it only has half the firing capacity of the original Mothership."

The group walked to one of the gangways and within, what Skeletor was told was confirmed. Mutant Troopers sat dormant, all in a row, lining the corridors of the Mothership. 4,000 in the Mothership with another 1,000 in each of the Troop Transports.

"A new army at my command," Skeletor said with his 'smile.'

They inspected the Mothership closely, just figuring everything out about it they could. When Skeletor stepped into one of the smaller cargo bays, he was in for quite a surprise. Sixteen 'special' Mutant Troopers all stood dormant, ready activation.

"Patheon Troopers," Skeletor said with surprise and deep satisfaction. "Oh, Flogg, what else are you hiding from me?"

The crew spent the next day getting the ships in launching condition. Skeletor's own vessel was loaded up into the launch bay. It was the only ship in there, save two shuttles. The following morning, just as the three suns rose with a began to spread pale light across the Quagmi Swamp, the marshlands lifted up – as they were all sitting on massive metal platform – and were shifted over.

The Mothership lifted up first, it's engines roaring and echoing across the Quagmi Swamp. It swung across over the swamp and started its ascent into the atmosphere. One by one, the Troop Transports followed, heading out of the atmosphere and – in time – away from Denebria. The marshlands shifted back to their original place.

Slushead stood by, waving at the ships the entire time.

"Bye guys! Come back again sometime!" he shouted. "Hmmm . . . maybe I should send Flogg a postcard."

* * *

In orbit, the five ships prepared for Trans-Hyperspace just as word was reaching Denebria Space Command that they were there.

"Where to?" asked Staghorn, who was commanding one of the four Transports.

"Eternia. Maximum velocity," Skeletor replied. "Let us ride to conquest."

* * *

The term 'Galactic Council' was both out-dated and incorrect. Originally, the Galactic Council represented a forum of just one galaxy, but various star systems across four other galaxies began to align themselves with the Galactic Council. Most recently, the Galactic Council had been picking up the slack in the aftermath of the Horde Empire's fall.

However, the most recent attention-grabber was He-Man's proposal to the Council of Nine, the highest ruling party in the Galactic Council: a complete and total divorce between the Galactic Council and Cosmic Enforcers.

The trip there had been swift, thankfully, and Adam spent most of his time catching up with the Galactic Guardians and preparing for the negotiations. He and Teela had been unable to continue their talk, though she reminded him once or twice that they still needed to have it. Adam was suddenly reminded of when he was younger and she would get on him about his training. Not fond memories.

After three days of travel – and on the same day that Skeletor left Denebria – the group arrived at Pax. The seat of their power was in the city of J-Shadiv. A massive tower of metal and glass stood in the center of a very city. By the time they settled in their rooms just outside the tower, the time had come for the meeting.

"Nervous?" Marlena asked her son as they walked along a long bridge into the tower.

"Fairly. Are you sure about this, Mom? Representing Earth?"

"I am. After all the damage Marzo did the world, I would hate to see the Cosmic Enforcers' grasp extend to my homeworld."

Adam smiled. "Fair enough."

The group was minimal – only the representatives were allowed inside of the tower. Upon reaching the entrance, there came a shout.

"Orko!"

Orko spun around and watched as Dree-Ell came flying at him, arms wide open. The two embraced hard.

"Dree-Ell! I'm so happy you're here!"

"Same here. Your Uncle Montok is here too!"

The bearded Trollan floated over. "Hello nephew. Good to see you again, my boy."

"It's good to see you too, Uncle," Orko replied, one arm wrapped around Dree-Ell and the other shaking his uncle's hand.

Shortly after this reunion, Adam and his entourage entered the tower and were taken swiftly to the Council Chamber. It was a huge, arena-like room filled with scores of balconies. In the middle of it all was a tower with its own balconies. Adam later learned this was the Lower Court, Higher Court, Body Senate, and the Council of Nine – to which all these worlds around them answered to.

Those with Adam were Master Sebrian, Orko, Dree-Ell, Zeeka, Montork, Glimmer, Talas, Marlena, Emar, Helm, Bimo, Char, Besquite, Sagitar, Artilla, Glimmer, and the Starchild.

"What now?" asked Adam of Sebrian.

"We present our case to all. Despite that the Council of Nine are actually making the decisions, the Courts and Senate need to hear the details."

At that moment, tones rang out through the tall chamber.

"DATA ON CASE-MOVEMENT H-11145973 ("GALACTIC COUNCIL/COSMIC ENFORCER DIVORCE") IS NOW PRESENT. ACCESS IS GRANTED AND THE SUBJECT WILL BE DECIDED DEBATED IN THREE UGNARZ."

"What's an Ugnarz?" Montok asked.

"It's a twenty minute period. Three Ugnarz is an hour," Master Sebrian replied.

Adam sat back in his seat. The constant sound of talking seemed to grow louder now that the controversial proposal was on the table. He was stricken with doubts, now. Should he really be here? Dictating policy? Telling all these others how the universe should run? Was it his right?

_Stay the course, Adam, _he thought to himself. _This is the right way._

After an hour, tones rang out again and a new announcement was made.

"THE COUNCIL OF NINE HAS DECIDED TO OPEN THIS MATTER TO DEBATE. AS THE COUNCIL OF NINE ARE THE HIGHEST POWER IN THE GALACTIC COUNCIL, ALL MATTERS SHALL RESIDE ON THEM. FILE A COMPLAINT IF YOU FIND THIS UNACCEPTABLE, BUT UNDERSTAND THAT . . ."

It went on and on with legalities. After a minute or two, Adam stood up.

"THE PRESENTER OF THIS CASE-MOVEMENT, KING ADAM OF ETERNIA."

King Adam, his crown upon his brow, looked out. Huge holograms of his body were projected all across the chamber.

"Good day," Adam addressed, heart thundering, feeling nervous. "As was presented in my proposal, the Cosmic Enforcers have been manipulating my homeworld of Eternia into a struggle between the forces of Good and Evil. Their hope was to see which side would come out of this struggle victorious in a final battle they called Rohanna'Rota. The Cosmic Enforcers would then use the item called the Starseed to reshape time/space to match the victor. What I propose is that the Cosmic Enforcers and the Galactic Council break relations and that the Starseed be removed from their grasp. It's obvious that the Cosmic Enforcers are a risk to many other worlds."

"What other worlds support this case-movement?" asked a red-pink skinned Councilmember named Mox.

At that time, the other representatives all stood up and gave their names and their worlds: Emar of Makkinak; Helm of Darus-7; Bimo and Char of Nekron; Besquite and Sagitar of Equinos; Glimmer of Etheria; Talas of Phantos; Orko, Montok, and Dree-Ell of Trolla; Marlena of Earth; Artilla of Vitrion; Zeeka of Denebria; as well as emissaries from Zil, Omega-4, Danzig, and Crelus.

"A strong showing," said a seven-eyed, 800 pound woman with green skin. Her name was Kal'lang. When she spoke, bubbles poured out of her mouth.

All of the councilmembers were projected through the chamber as holograms.

"Save from your own solar system, these worlds are all a part of the Galactic Council. However, three worlds from your system is still strong. There is much to consider here, Adam King. The Cosmic Enforcers have long history," Kal'lang continued.

"Evidence needs to be heard," said another councilmember, this one being a male covered in silver fur. His name was Najlor.

"Your own records show that I was told by the Cosmic Enforcers to retrieve the Starseed from the center of Eternia. This was yet another, smaller test. Furthermore, we were spied on by two of Zodak's agents."

"You have evidence on the spying?" asked Mox.

Adam gulped. "I . . ."

"He does, Councilmember," came a familiar voice.

Adam looked over . . . and saw Rokkon and Stonedar projected into the chamber.

"We were sent to Eternia to report to the Cosmic Enforcers on matters of Good and Evil," Rokkon stated. "This was done much to our own shame."

"We felt as though we had no other choice," Stonedar then added. "The Cosmic Enforcers made a deal with us. Spy on Eternia – and they would help our world be free from the Horde."

"It speaks to their manipulative nature," Rokkon concluded. "Let the record show that our world stands by Eternia. Let our testimony stand as evidence. We also have records of meetings with Zodak."

Adam couldn't help but grin. No matter what had happened in their past, no matter how much he felt betrayed . . . Rokkon and Stonedar had just been redeemed.

"Shouldn't we have a say in this?"

Adam looked over and watched as Zodak, Zeelahr, Strobo, and two other Cosmic Enforcers (he did not know their names, but they were Tekno and Saljak) walked onto a nearby balcony. The last to enter was Prometheus – a huge Cosmic Enforcer who carried a large stick.

"The master of the Cosmic Enforcers," Master Sebrian pointed out.

Starchild suddenly moaned a little. Glimmer looked to her as Adam was too wrapped up in the introductions to notice.

"Are you okay?" asked the princess of Brightmoon.

"Something . . . I feel funny . . ." Starchild answered.

"Do you have a headache?"

"No. It's not . . . well . . . maybe . . . I . . ."

The debate continued, now between the Cosmic Enforcers and Adam.

"Tell me, King Adam, you said you were 'told' to retrieve the Starseed, correct?" asked Prometheus. "However, from what Zodak has shared with me, you were volunteered for the mission? Why was that?"

"Skeletor was after Starseed. He is my enemy on Eternia. He would have damned the entire universe with it. However, the Starseed Skeletor ended up with was a fake. Plus, how he learned of the Starseed was through the Golden Discs of Knowledge, given to him - "

"By Zanthos," Zodak completed for Adam. "Who was given them by the Elders, who were given them by the Ancients, who received them from us. However, we had no idea that they would change hands so very often."

"True as that may be, Zanthos gave them to Skeletor because he had seen the information that was revealed to me. He hoped the Skeletor would unlock the Cosmic Enforcers secrets and discover the manipulation for himself – and put an end to it," Adam answered. "What he had seen was inconsistent."

"Oh!" came a shout from behind Adam. He looked back.

Glimmer was at Starchild's side, the young blonde's eyes wide.

"What is it?" Adam asked harshly.

"I don't know, she's just rigid all of a sudden!" Glimmer replied.

There was a flash of light. Starchild's eyes began to glow silver. A pair of energy beams fired out and struck the Cosmic Enforcers. All of them were unable to hold out against it and the light enveloped their entire bodies. Silver light then filled the whole chamber.

* * *

_Veena stood by the table, her eyes on the shards before her. A figure appeared in a burst of rainbow-colored light._

_"I am Zodak," he said to her. _

_"I am Veena, Goddess-Queen of Castle Grayskull."_

_"Yes. I remember you," Zodak replied. "The others Gods have fallen or faded?"_

_"War has destroyed them," Veena answered sadly. "Tell me, Zodak," she said showing him the shards, "what shall I do with these? They are imbued with the forces of both Good and Evil. Shall I toss them into the Abyss? Shall I reforged the sword that they once were united to form?"_

_There was silence, but they then could hear Zodak's thoughts as he studied the shards. _These are perfect, _he thought. _As weapons unto themselves, they would be perfect in a final battle situation. If only we could find that Starseed . . .

_"Four shards for four swords," said Zodak. "Two for Good, two for Evil."_

There was another burst of light.

_"I am Prometheus," he said to the Ancient called Master. "I am the leader of the Cosmic Enforcers. Long ago in the history of your world, I helped seed this world with your ancestors. Since then, I see now that the Gods of old have fallen and the war between Good and Evil continues on."_

_"Indeed, that is true," Master returned. "I am Master, leader of the Ancients. It was during one such battle, I should note, that an enemy arose. The Energy Beast. A foul beast, unable to remain tamed by our strength. We ask you for assistance."_

_Prometheus turned to Zodak and the pair entered into telepathic communication._

Eternia's war could be bolstered by the gift of technology,_ Zodak said to his leader._

I concur. The pitch of battle will only be strengthened and prolonged with technology. Let it be done, then, _Prometheus replied. _

_Prometheus then lifted up his staff with a blue light of teleportation, a tower of technology appeared. "A gift," Prometheus declared._

A second burst of light flared up around the chamber.

_"The Sword of Darkness neutralized. Its power diminished. A fine blade, but all of its magic taken from it," Zodak summed up to the Sorceress. _Then the final test will not be until it is restored, _he thought to himself. _

_"Most of its magic, yes," the Sorceress answered. "You fear this will upset the balance of good and evil?"_

_"Perhaps."_ It most certainly will.

_"Do not. Skeletor is desperate now. I predict that he step up his attacks. He will seek ancient secrets and weapons. Spells unspoken in a thousand years will now be uttered by his shadowed tongue. Old magic will stir. Skeletor will remain the same challenge he ever has – if not worse."_

_"And He-Man will stand against him still?"_ He best, if all were to go as planned.

_"Yes."_

_Zodak nodded. "I see." _The Starseed, _he continued to think, analyzing the situation. _Now that we believe we have the location, perhaps He-Man can be sent into the depths of Eternia to retrieve it. But in time . . . he must be tested once before then. Perhaps casting away his memory and sending him to another world. I will be on the look out for the opportunity to do that.

_ "I am concerned that other threats will emerge in the wake of Skeletor's attacks. I sense disturbances across various dimensional planes. I've heard rumors of a man named Count Marzo committing crimes across the world. Whispers of the plant renegade Evilseed have reached my ears. Needless to say, Skeletor will not be the only enemy to peace."_

_"Eternia will never know peace," Zodak replied, snapped out of his line of thought._

_The Sorceress looked away. "For now, at least, it shall not."_

_Zodak nodded and stepped back. "I wish you good fortune, Sorceress."_

_"The same to you, Zodak. I assume you will be back."_

_She could see just the faintest smile on his lips. "Most certainly." _To test your champion and to later send him after that which I can touch – the Starseed.

There was yet another burst of light.

_"Twice now has Eternia needed intervention," Zodak said to Prometheus. "The Dark Cloud before and the Spirit of Evil now. The latter took all 2,113 Cosmic Enforcers to handle. We must act quickly to speed up the final battle."_

_"I agree, Zodak." Prometheus paused in thought. "There is another world we seeded with humanity. Primus. They have found themselves in a state of war with the Mutants of neighboring world of Denebria. If we removed He-Man and Skeletor from Eternia and force them into the war between Primus and Denebria, it may make for some interesting results on Eternia. Not to mention that on Primus, there is the means to re-power the Sword of Darkness."_

_"I will contact those who must be contacted and make the arrangements," Zodak replied. "He-Man will go to Primus."_

* * *

The light burst came once more and this time, everything was restored to normalcy. The entire chamber was filled with loud voices, trying to figure out what they had just seen. Adam turned back to Starchild, who was on the ground, gasping.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm . . . I'm okay."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" roared Prometheus, standing now at their balcony and flanked by the other Cosmic Enforcers.

"Evidence," Adam grunted.

"This child," Tekno reported, "was able to use telepathy, telekinesis, and some form of teleportation to make all witness the past."

"I couldn't help it," Starchild sputtered, starting to cry now.

"It's okay," Glimmer assured her, wrapping her arms around her.

"The child was created to work against us," Tekno elaborated. "This was all on instinct."

"I sense the same," Zeelahr added.

Prometheus stepped forward. "Then she is our enemy and shall be treated as such."

"NO!" shouted Adam. "This child is under MY protection!"

The others all stepped in front of Starchild – including Rokkon and Stonedar.

"ENOUGH!" yelled out Mox.

"The nature of this incident will be examined thoroughly!" Gleedal shouted. "Until then, both parties are to remain away from each other at all times!"

Prometheus looked to the other Cosmic Enforcers and nodded slowly. They all flew back to their balcony.

"This debate will continue in seven Ungnarz. It will be held in a private session. That is all," Gleedal announced.

Adam looked back to Starchild and leaned down to face her. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked of her.

"Yes," she answered. "But all my powers . . ."

"What about them, honey?" asked Glimmer.

"All my powers are gone."


	6. The Fate of Galactic Peace

Chapter Five: "The Fate of Galactic Peace"

"Near as I can tell, she's telling the truth," Montok stated after he, Glimmer, and Sebrian took a look at Starchild. They were all out in a private lobby at the Council Chamber, allowing them both privacy and rest.

"My powers are gone?"

"It appears so, child," Master Sebrian said. "From what we've heard, it was your destiny to do what you did. Your powers all worked in concert for brief, critical moments. The day may just be saved by you."

She smiled. "Well, as long as I did a good thing."

"You did," Adam replied. She had grown up so much. Almost a teenager, now. "Teela will be by soon to pick you up. She and the others will protect you. I promise."

"Thank you, your highness."

Adam grinned a little. "I remember having to chase you all around the palace. There was no formalities then."

She giggled. "I remember that. I was a little brat, wasn't I?"

"Nah."

"Well, those were the simple days," she then said, sliding off the table.

"They were indeed."

Marlena then entered the room. "Adam? Rokkon and Stonedar are here to see you."

"Thank you."

Adam stepped out of the lobby and into the corridor. Rokkon and Stonedar stood there waiting. "Gentlemen."

"I hope you didn't mind our barging in," Rokkon said.

"When we heard what you were doing, we both knew it was time to come clean," Stonedar followed up.

"I thank you. Your support back there really helped my case." Adam shifted a bit. "Listen, if you wanted redemption . . ."

"We weren't really looking for that, your highness. Just looking to come clean," Stonedar interrupted.

"Let me finish," Adam chided. "If you wanted redemption? You've found it."

"Thank you," Rokkon replied, meaning it.

* * *

As opposed to the chamber below, the one holding the Council of Nine was significantly smaller. Nine desks of various sizes sat in a semi-circle. Behind them were set of stairs – the whole thing was set up like an amphitheater. Four chairs were set up in front of the semi-circle of desks.

Obviously, the Circle of Nine took up residence behind the desks. The chairs sat Prometheus, Zodak, Adam, and Master Sebrian.

"During the previous debate, a young woman forced all to experience a temporal warp," explained Brot, an orange, dog-like alien. "Needless to say, what it revealed was . . . astonishing."

Prometheus grunted. "I suppose it would be useless claiming that what the girl projected was lies."

"Certainly, yes," Kur stated, his head roughly three times the size of his actual body. "My telepathy confirms it."

Prometheus leaned forward. "Let us speak, then. Let us debate. But I tell you this – there is nothing that will stop us from seeing our most ancient of plans put into motion."

"Except me," Adam threatened.

"Enough!" Mox cut in. "Enough of this. Adam, you wish our two organizations to break apart. I can not tell just how difficult that will be. Despite the evidence presented on the Cosmic Enforcers plans for Eternia, they do a lot for this organization – including the protection of various worlds throughout the known universe."

"I have a solution for that, actually," came a new voice. Adam recognized it immediately.

Warlord-King Zed came walking down the stairs – the new leader of the 'new Horde.'

"Zed," Gleedal remarked. "What brings you here?"

"Well, you see, I've been paying quite a bit of attention to everything that's been going on, you know. With order pretty much restored with Horde and all of our worlds getting turned over to you, I'd thought I'd . . . well . . . give the Galactic Council the entire Horde military. Thus, pretty much destroying anything that was left the Horde Empire."

The Council of Nine all looked at each other.

"What about you?" asked Kal'lang.

"Tropica, baby. I turned the most sinister space empire on its head and pretty much caused its complete downfall . . . all before I hit twenty. I'm retiring!"

"Allow me to understand this all completely," said Wilan. "We're contemplating dissolving our relations with the Cosmic Enforcers as they have manipulated a world into going to war with itself for thousands of year. To take the place of their peacekeeping efforts, we'll be taking control of the formerly Horde military and replacing them with it. Which means . . ."

"We all win," Zed said, smiling at Adam.

"What about the Starseed?" asked Master Sebrian.

"We would destroy it. Toss it in a black hole or a white hole or perhaps even a sun going supernova," responded Uon, a dolphin-like alien with big thick legs.

"This is madness!" shouted Prometheus.

"The time of debate is over," Gleedal told them. "We must all decide as to what to do now. Return in fifteen Ungnarz."

Adam, Zed, Master Sebrian, Zodak, and Prometheus all left the chamber.

* * *

Adam and Master Sebrian caught up with the rest of the group at the Starship Colossus, still sitting at one of the landing ports.

"Another five hours?" asked Teela.

Adam nodded slowly. "Yep."

Teela breathed out heavily. "Okay."

Adam ran his hands over Teela's arms. "Listen, I know you want to talk about this whole trust thing, but can it wait until this all over?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"Hey!" shouted Addison. "Dad!"

Adam perked his eyebrow. He said that with ease.

"What's up, Addison?"

"The bad ship!"

Teela walked to the window where Addison was playing in front of. Adam joined her and the two looked at where Addison was pointing. The mercenary ship was indeed in the air . . . and landing near a series of tall, metal towers.

Adam looked to Teela, who shared his expression.

"Master Sebrian!" shouted Adam, walking out of their quarters and into a small lobby where the others were all at.

"Yes Adam? What is it?"

"Those towers to the north. What are they?"

Sebrian paused in thought. "Security towers. They store maximum security devices such as weapons of mass devastation and - "

"The Starseed?"

"Yes, I would think so. Why?"

"The mercenary ship just landed there."

Flipshot was on his feet in a flash. "Action?"

Adam nodded and pulled out the Sword of Power. "Action."

* * *

Calyx bounded out of his ship, followed by Elementor and Garton. He grumbled and looked around. Security was tight, but he had his pass. Stolen, but he had it. This mission had been far from easy, but after the loss of his fleet, he was really up for anything. The life of a mercenary was one of freedom, but money was often too hard to find. The loss at the Tri-Solar System was too well known.

But his newest business partners . . . they were good business and good money.

His stolen pass got them access. Calyx walked into tower and headed straight for the vault he was searching for. Again, the pass got them access.

There it was.

The Starseed . . . or whatever it was called.

His orders were simple. Retrieve, but do not touch. Not that Calyx cared. Using a grabber, he put the Starseed in a box and sealed it up.

"Let's go, boys," Calyx said to his associates.

The trio turned around and started out the door. Just as they reached their landing port, they found a group of unexpected characters – the Galactic Guardians, He-Man, Woodsman, Glimmer, and Teela.

"Looks like a rematch," Calyx grunted.

Everyone was instantly in action.

Vizar went invisible and rushed towards Garton. It was rather useless for a telepath, as Garton knew exactly what Vizar was going to do. He punched him clean in the face and sent the invisible warrior spiraling backwards. Nocturna and Tuskador rushed Garton, then.

"Please, no effort," Garton replied, blocking their every move as he picked them up from his mind.

"It's called 'distraction,'" Nocturna stated.

"What?"

Roboto and Artilla moved in from behind, unleashing a barrage of stun beams. Garton was down.

Meanwhile, Elementor was unleashing fire, wind, water, and mud from his arms. Spinwit was keep it all back with his own winds, but it was proving difficult. Quite suddenly, branches broke through the ground and wrapped around Elementor's arms and legs.

"Take him, gents!" Woodsman shouted to Kayo, Spinwit, and Sagitar.

Calyx, with the box under his arm, slammed his other mighty arm into Hydron and Flipshot, sending them flying back.

"Glad we got this little rematch going," Calyx told them both.

"Me too," Teela said, leaping up at Calyx. She pulled out her staff and slammed it against a scarred part of Calyx's stone chest. Calyx shouted out in pain, dropping the box. Mara fired a pulse beam at the scar, then kicked the box . . . right over to He-Man.

"Good job," Teela said as Mara rushed to her side.

"Thanks," Mara replied. "You too."

"Get back here!" shouted Calyx, starting to run after He-Man, but laser bolts struck him from Flipshot and Hydron.

He-Man entered the security area, the box containing the Starseed in his hands. He paused, however, before reaching the vault. Though it wasn't a fact, he practically knew it was the Cosmic Enforcers who had ordered Calyx to do this. In fact, weren't they the ones who were chasing Calyx's Horde down after the failed invasion of Primus?

"They won't stop coming after this," He-Man sighed heavily. "Meaning, I'll have to do something about it."

He ripped the top of the box off. Within was the Starseed. Glowing white with a golden halo, it looked almost like a miniature sun. As soon as He-Man touched it, he could sense great power connecting him to it. He had been tempted to use it once before . . . but now the temptation was even greater.

The power of creation sat in his hands. With but a thought, he could change _everything. _As it sat in his well-worn fingers, he thought of the possibilities and perhaps – for mere seconds – they came true.

His minds eye was moving rapidly. Time and space shifted like sand. He could eliminate the Cosmic Enforcers from existence. Or better yet – right after they deposited humanity off on Eternia. Skeletor – Keldor – could have been wiped away. No . . . why not reshape his life so that he became a good man and simply wipe away Hordak and Hiss? Why not just take away all evil? No more Evil Warriors, no more Snake Mountain, no more Faker, Flogg, Evil-Lynn, or Marzo . . .

He imagined life as perfect as could be. Adam and Teela together, already married. No Addison . . .

_Addison . . ._

Better yet, make Addison his own son, not some . . .

"No."

Make himself King, the right way . . . no, father should retire . . .

"NO!"

He-Man pulled his mind away. The possibilities rolled over and over, tumbling every more in his imagination. He focused. Focused hard, his mind tearing into the Starseed. It could grant him whatever he wanted, but right now, he had to make himself want one thing.

He wanted the Starseed to cease to exist.

The Starseed suddenly began to vibrate in his hands, this force of pure creation, obeying its newest job. Its smooth surface began to ripple at the force of He-Man's command. Light flared briefly.

There was a sound in He-Man's ears like thunder. There was a flash of light and a brief feeling of heat.

The Starseed then simply vanished, a small 'pop' being the only sound heard.

He-Man sat there, the weight of it gone, the power it had simply . . . gone.

* * *

"The testimony rings true," said Trilart. "These mercenaries not only claim to be hired by Zodak himself, but were ordered to intercept Adam's ship on its way here."

The Council of Nine were assembled once again, this time with Zed joining them. Prometheus glanced back at Zodak, who sat emotionlessly and simply stared at the Council of Nine.

"We have made our decision," Gleedal stated. "What this evidence proves only nails in what has been revealed in the past few days. We have come to unanimous decision. The Cosmic Enforcers shall be removed from the Galactic Council and both shall operate independently from the other. We shall go over specifics in the next few days."

Adam smiled and looked to Sebrian, who returned the expression.

"Furthermore, the Horde military will be absorbed into the Galactic Council effective immediately. This ruling is permanent and without overruling."

"SO SAYS THE COUNCIL OF NINE!" they all said as one.

"Adjourned," Kal'lang yelped.

While Prometheus and Zodak left the room, Adam stepped up to Gleedal. "Thank you," he said to her. "This would not have been possible if not for you."

She smiled kindly. "All I did was give you the chance, Adam. This is the right way – away from all those that would use entire worlds to suit their dangers needs. Take care of yourself, your majesty."

"Thank you. You as well."

Adam turned and joined Master Sebrian and Zed.

"Vacation, huh?" asked Adam.

"Retirement. I'm glad I could be of service to you," Zed said.

"It'll be strange to think that the Horde is gone in all its absolution."

Zed nodded. "Strange and good, I'd say. Take care, King Adam. I hope we meet again."

"The same, Zed. Good journey and farewell."

The two parted ways. Adam and Sebrian stepped out the door . . . where Zodak was waiting for them.

"Go on ahead, Sebrian," Adam told his former mentor. "I'll meet you back at the Colossus."

Once Sebrian was out of earshot, Zodak spoke. "I'm sure you believe you achieved a victory here."

"I'd like to think I have."

Zodak nodded a little. "To an extent, you have, I suppose. But remember this, Adam of Eternia, the Starseed was just the easy option. What has been set in motion on Eternia can not be undone. Rohanna'Rota is coming. In the end, we shall change the universe to how we see it fit. By force, if we must."

Adam grimed. "Then be ready to fight me, Zodak, because I'll be first in line to stop you."

"We shall see about that."

With that Zodak, walked off.

Adam returned to the Colossus a few minutes later. Once there, the Galactic Guardians, Rokkon, Stonedar, and the rest of the group were all waiting for him.

"Well, I'd say this was a successful mission," he said, entering the bridge.

"Good," Queen Marlena answered, "because now we've got a new issue."

"What now?" Adam asked, his mood immediately turning sour.

"Gepple, replay the transmission."

The monitor before them clicked on. Flogg appeared on it. It looked as though he was inside a house; his armor was gone.

"This is Flogg, former warlord of Denebria – as I'm sure you know. I thought you'd like to know . . . Skeletor managed to get his hands on a second Mothership, four Troop Transports, and 8,000 Mutant Troopers. Not to mention the Mutant Enforcers save for Slushead and Crita. He's heading to Eternia as we speak."

Flogg paused a moment, looking down. "I'm sure you're wondering just why I thought it a good idea to contact you. Well . . . Skeletor betrayed me. I thought it best to return the favor. Do me a favor and give him hell for his ol' friend Flogg. Denebria out."

The monitor clicked off.

"Do . . . do we have confirmation of this?"

Hydron nodded. "We contacted Meriac shortly after this transmission. Sensors confirmed it."

"We need to go," Adam said, almost panicking. _Not again . . ._

"You're right," Flipshot answered. "Caz, power up the engines."

Adam spun around. "Wait. What?"

"Uh, Adam, we're going with you," Mara said. "You gave up five years of your life to fight our war. I think it's about time we return the favor."

"I . . . what about the delegates?"

"We sent them on their way already, heading back to Primus. Everyone that wanted to help is already aboard," Sebrian replied.

"Everyone," Rokkon said, with Stonedar by his side.

Adam looked around at his friends and family – the Galactic Guardians, Caz, Drissi, U-R, Gleep, Alcon, Meloc, Gepple, Krex, Montok, Dree-Ell, Zeeka, Besquite, Beamo, Glimmer, Rokkon, Stonedar, Queen Marlena, Orko, Cringer, Talas, Woodsman, Teela and Addison. Addison his new son.

"Then let's go. Maximum velocity."

In mere minutes, the Starship Colossus – with the Starship Eternia in its docking bay – was in the air and firing out from Pax.

* * *

A few hours later, Adam and Teela finally found their time to talk. It was late and Addison was fast asleep. The pair were sitting on a couch with poor padding, looking out at the stars as they whizzed by.

"Trust. It's a big word," Teela said to him.

"Yeah."

"Listen . . . it's not that I don't trust you, Adam. It's not that at all. But I don't want you to hide things from me. We went so long with you hiding you were from me. I don't want that anymore. This whole with the Cosmic Enforcers, eating away at you . . ." She reached out and grabbed his hands. "You're not alone in the world anymore. You've got me to help shoulder your burden."

Adam squeezed her hands. "You want . . . everything?"

"Everything. Full disclosure."

He wanted to smile. It felt so good to have someone to talk to about his burdens. To have _her _to talk to about them. He looked to her, her encouraging eyes staring into him.

"I am afraid, Teela," he said looking to the stars as they streaked by.

"Of what?"

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. Everything. I'm afraid of losing you. I'm afraid of losing someone close. I'm afraid that I'll have to kill someone or paralyze someone or do something horrible like that. I'm afraid . . . I can't stop the battle to come. I'm afraid I'll fail. I'm afraid . . ."

Much to his own surprise, his cheeks were becoming wet. He was actually crying . . .

Shame filled him, but Teela simply leaned forward and kissed the tears away.

"I can't give you any assurances and no guarantees," she told him, her hands on his face, the feel of scrub on her palms. "But I can tell you right now, Adam, that no matter you go through, no matter what you face . . . I'll be there, with you. I'll help you in any way I can."

"Thank you," he said in a small voice. His fingers ran along his Engagement Ribbon.

"I love you," she said.

He smiled at her and pulled in for a tight hug. "I love you."

TO BE CONTINUED IN "ENDINGS AND EPILOGUES – BOOK TWO: DECEPTION" COMING SOON!


End file.
